A Kentucky boy on his way to school brightened a patrolling officer’s day when he stopped her at a bus stop and asked her to pray with him.
Officer Jan Dykes didn’t catch the little boy’s name and doesn’t know where he lives, but his gesture on the morning of Nov. 5 made a lasting impact. When Louisville Metro Police Department took to social media to celebrate its officer’s sweet encounter, the post went viral.
“On patrol in the First Division, Officer Dykes takes time to visit kids before school,” the department wrote. “This fella asked her to pray for him, a moment to keep in her heart forever.”
A photo accompanying the post shows Dykes crouched on one knee, her left hand placed over the little boy’s heart and her right hand placed over her own. Both officer and child have their eyes closed tight as they share their prayers for the day.
“He said, ‘I want to pray for this officer’s safety. I made a new friend; I really hope her day goes great, and hopefully, she makes a lot of lives better,’” Dykes told Wave 3 News.
The boy, the officer added, also prayed for himself as he headed to school to meet new people.
Dykes returned to the bus stop that same afternoon, hoping to find the little boy who changed her day but to no avail, according to the report. She hopes he, and others, know how impactful a gesture as simple as a shared prayer can be.
“Oftentimes, people are thinking how can you go and help them, and it’s just nice to see he wanted to do that for me,” the officer stated. “It made me really happy, and especially to see someone so young and so moldable. He just wanted to help, and he just wanted to be that positive light.”