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A Baby's Love
A Great story for this time of year and really all the time...
A BABY'S HUG!!!
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a
high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking.
Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his fat
baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter
and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled
with merriment.
I looked around and saw the source of his
merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at
half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty
and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to
be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road ap.
We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled..
His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there,
big boy.. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik.
My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?'
Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'
Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the
man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our
meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty
cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.'
Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.
My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for
Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row
bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
We
finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to
pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man
sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here
before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I
turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be
breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in
a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had
propelled himself from my arms to the man.
Suddenly a very old
smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship.
Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head
upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears
hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard
labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have
ever loved so deeply for so short a time.
I stood awestruck. The
old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set
squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of
this baby.'
Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.
He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly, as though he were
in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am,
you've given me my Christmas gift.'
I said nothing more than a
muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was
wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was
saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'
I had just
witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who
saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother
who sawa dirty exterior. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a
child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share
your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity. How did God
feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago?
The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God , we must become as little children.'
If this has blessed you, please bless others by sending it on.
Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We
must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most
importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the
car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at
all; it is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.
Source: Internet