The Scariest Man Kids Love...
My friend Mark and I meet most Friday mornings at a Starbucks in Monroe. I've known him a couple of years now, but my first impressions of him were seeing him as a nursery/walker worker at our church...this man has a gift with little kids! When our youngest daughter was just a few months old, he held her and she snuggled right in like she'd known him forever. Our younger son who had him in the 'walkers' room a few years ago loved seeing Mark...and typically wouldn't go in there if he wasn't there.
Well, I had kind of forgotten about this man's gift until this morning at coffee when a mom and her little girl walked by to go the the restroom. The girl was probably 3 or 4 at the most and was dressed like she was going skiing later (Monroe is a key stop on the way to Stephens Pass on Highway 2 in Washington state) and the mom couldn't care less about us sitting there but it was like some magical vibe flowing out of Mark that compelled the girl to wave and smile at him! It was incredible to see, and it happened again as she came past another time.
Ironically Mark is rather scary to adults. He kind of resembles a bear (not a teddy bear mind you) and he tells me how some folks seem to be rather wary of him when they cross paths. Mark likes guns alot and told me it's tempting to move to Idaho because they have more realistic and thereby smarter gun laws. He's writing a book with all sorts of practical lists for preparing yourself for 'worst case scenarios'...he calls them 'bug-out-kits' which includes different varieties of backpacks, carpacks, 'man-purses,' etc. If there were ever a global catastrophe I'm glad he's my friend. He's also an amazing source of what he calls 'trivial information' but it's always fascinating. I call him my research assistant (there's got to be a better word than 'assistant' but that will have to do for now). But most of all it's ironic that such a man would be scary to adults...kids love him! I don't know if there's a lesson here, but I thought it a delight to watch my friend magically meet some need in that little girl and her mom had no clue.
"...let the little children come to me..."