[guide.chat] Baby's Hug

From: "Carol O'Connor" <missbossyboots33@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "guide Chat List" <guide.chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 09:10:54 +0100

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 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.' 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 
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.  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.' 

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. 

This one is a keeper. 

'It is better to be liked for the true you, than to be loved for who people 
think you are......'(Amen! ) 

I believe we could all take lessons from God's little children who never judge 
a package by it's wrapping!!! 

AMEN
[guide.chat] Baby's Hug

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