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.
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Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and
said, "Hi there."
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He poundedhis fat baby hands on the high-chair tray.
His eyes were wide with excitement and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin. He wiggled
and giggled with merriment.
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I looked around and saw the source of
his merriment.
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It was a man with a tattered rag of a
coat; dirty, greasy and worn. His 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.
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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.
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His hands waved and flapped on loose
wrists. "Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to
Erik.
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My husband and I looked at each other,
"What do we do?"
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Erik
continued to laugh and answer, "Hi, hi there."
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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.
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Our meal came and the man began
shouting from across the room, "Do ya know patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey,
look, he knows peek-a-boo."
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Nobody thought the old man was cute.
He was obviously drunk.
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My husband and I were embarrassed. We
ate in silence; except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring
skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
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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. |
I
drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to side-step 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-gently, so gently, 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.
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The old man rocked and cradled Erik in
his arms for a moment, and then his eyes opened and set squarely on mine.
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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.
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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.
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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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