''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 eating and talking.
Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said,
''Hi there.'' 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 map. 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, hi there.'' 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 skidrow 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's. Suddenly a very old smelly man and
a very young baby consummated their love
relationship. 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
unwillingly, 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 saw a
suit of clothes.
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. The ragged
old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, ''To
enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as
little children.''
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Author: Unknown
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