Baby's Hug

I did not write this but I have seen this for myself with little ones at our downtown park with the homeless. . .


 *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.'
*(end of story)

Love does no wrong to one's neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.

Romans 13:10

May the Lord make (our) love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else. . .

First Thessalonians 3:12

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

First John 4:7

(Some of the homeless neighbors at our downtown park that God has taught me to see with different eyes and 
has filled my heart with a love I had not had before. . .)