A small figure crouching near the dumpster subtly caught my eye as we walked down the street. There she was, sweeping the dirt and garbage up around the dumpster. As we head across the street, she stood up to face us.
Innocence. Beauty. Brokenness.
“Kristin” “Kayla” “Linsey” as we pointed to ourselves. “And you?” we said with our eyes.
“Esmerelda”
We asked if she spoke English. She didn’t, but I knew we were suppose to communicate. I could read in her eyes all the pain and weight that she carried.
Hugs. You don’t need language to give hugs.
“Can I give you a hug?” I tentatively requested.
Slowly, she let herself be enveloped by my embrace. As she sank into my arms, you could feel the weight lift and release came. As she stepped back, you could see that her eyes were brimming with tears.
“I love you…I love you…You. are. loved.”
Despite the language barrier, you could tell in her face that she grasped the meaning of my words.
I wanted to give her something, but I didn’t have anything on me. Then I remembered I was carrying bananas. Again, I attempted to communicate, and I offered her a banana. With joy brimming on her face, she graciously accepted.
A banana.
I gave her all I had to offer. My love and a banana.
My eyes swelled with tears and I felt chills run all down my body, as I walked away. I knew this was a divine encounter.
How could someone so young have so much on her heart and in her eyes?
My spirit whispered of her. “You are noticed” “You are loved” “I see them. The least of these.”
We walked down the street for a short while and then decided to head back. Again, we stopped to talk with her for a second. This time we asked her age through signals.
Esmerelda is 10.
10.
Sweeping the streets with her father at 10 years old to collect enough plastic to live. But I was reminded in this encounter, she is a daughter of the Most High and is NOTICED.
