September 26, 2011
One of my daily delights and challenges the last few months has been taking two young children on buses all around town. It's an adventure every time. Simply getting on and off the bus making sure all 6 hands and 6 arms are intact is an achievement! So far, so good!
Normally Lili (age 2 1/2) and I sing on the bus to pass the time until we reach our destination. A few days ago we got on a bus, plopped ourselves down and straight away Lili started singing, "The Wheels on the Bus". My first inclination was to hush her loud voice, trying to be sensitive to the others on the bus, but held back and let her sing. Meanwhile I glanced around the bus to see who else was aboard. Across from us sat a lonely looking woman in her mid forties. Her hair looked like it hadn't been combed in a few days. Her clothes were tattered and worn and she had a sad look on her face as she stared at the floor. What I noticed later was that she also had a mental disability of some kind.
Soon after Lili started singing this woman looked up with a smile and I kid you not, started singing at the top of her lungs with smile on her face. Lili smiled back absolutely delighted that this woman had chimed in. This woman turned to another friend of hers sitting behind her who also started singing. Within a few minutes about 6 people on the bus were loudly singing "The horn on the bus goes "Beep Beep Beep", etc...all laughing and smiling together. You should have seen the look on the bus driver's face!
The simplicity of a child's love for life and innocence amazes me. The way it bridges gaps between the loved and the lonely is something powerful.
God, make me more like a little child in how I love people.
