I met him when I was in Latvia.
We have absolutely nothing in common.
We can’t even speak the same language.
Our friendship started when he gave me a bracelet.
We spent the rest of the night together – just the two of us.
Some little girls laughed when they saw us holding hands.
One of them pointed at us and drew a heart in the air.
His smile grew even bigger in response.
As for me… he stole my heart.
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You might have figured out by now that the “he” I described is a 6-year-old Latvian boy. I met him at the Zante Crisis Center. This is a temporary home for children who come from abusive homes and need a safe place to stay. We visited three times throughout the month, and from the beginning, I felt like God was shining his love down upon me through the kids there.
Unfortunately I can’t share his name or post a picture of us together… but I can tell you, I will cherish my memories of him for the rest of my life.
When I met this little boy, the rest of the world fell away. We made bracelets, played with cars, and danced together. He showed me his room and he played with my hair. We laughed and laughed and laughed some more. When it was time for dinner, he brought me over to sit next to him (even though the adults normally didn’t sit with the kids). He poured me a bowl of soup and brought me bread. He even cleaned up after us and brought me a piece of chocolate to sweeten up the end of the night.
The next week, I hoped and prayed that he would be there again. Walking through the doors, my eyes quickly scanned the room. I saw his older brother pointing at me and heard him yell out. A door swings open and out comes my precious little friend!
His eyes locked on mine.
He took a deep breath and bolted across the room right at me.
Tons of other kids and a couch were in his path.
Nope, not an issue.
He hopped up, ran across the couch… and he jumped into my arms.
Best hug ever.
Best moment ever.
(Here’s a little background on where I was at this time: To a certain degree my month in Latvia was very spiritually heavy. I struggled a lot with identity, which I didn’t even realize until the end of the month. I’ve been growing and changing so much and so quickly since I’ve started the Race that a huge struggle of mine has been figuring out and accepting the new me.)
A few days after the last Zante visit, I found myself lost in the reoccurring hurt once more. I felt so alone and unnoticed and unloved – but more than that, I didn’t love me either. All of those lies that the enemy tries to make you believe came rushing in. I started to describe what I was feeling to a teammate of mine, but then something amazing happened. As I was speaking, I remembered my time with my little Latvian guy. Thinking about him made me cry, and I found my way back to the truth:
In that moment when he leapt into my arms, I felt so much love. There was no right or wrong. There was no judgment or fear or sadness or hurt. When I think about it even now, my heart melts. I miss his precious little face and his unconditional love and affection. God gave me that moment for a reason.This little boy loved me for me. There was no special reason why he originally chose to give me his bracelet and kick-start our friendship over anyone else. There was no comparison. Also, it didn’t matter if I thought the old me was better. The current me was enough… Lord, thank you for loving me how you do.
I will forever remember this little boy.
He stole my heart and helped heal it all at once.
