 | ||||||
| ||||||
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 yaw, 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 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'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. "
This is to remind us that Christmas isn't about material things! It's about LOVE.
Author Unknown
When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow, We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago, And etched on vacant places Are half-forgotten faces Of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know.
--Ella Wheeler Wilcox
The tradition of Christmas lights dates back to when Christians were persecuted for saying Mass. A simple candle in the window meant that Mass would be celebrated there that night.
