Posted on 12/18/2010 4:00:10 PM PST by MsLady
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.'
you cannot be serious. FR needs emotion icons so I can tell when people are being sarcastic
Perfect example would be something like what happened to Daniel Pearl.
Face Prayer
by James Pinto, Jr, MEV
Heavenly Father, I embrace your grace this day,
So that I might not:
Think of another,
Speak to another or
Touch another,
without first looking for
Your Face in the other.
I ask all this through
Jesus Christ:
God Incarnate,
God with Skin,
God made Poor,
God with a Face. Amen!
you have had enough to drink
goodnight
A lot of people saying its fiction on this thread and maybe it is but it happened to me and I was the little child. Years ago in the Houston bus station where my father was manager and there was an old drunk. I was embarrassed at the time but have since realized that he was in fact an angel and I love my father more when I remember how he treated that old man with respect enough to introduce me to him.
I totally agree with you. It’s a cute piece of fiction, with some over-the-top sentence construction. I’m with you: I’d keep my children far away from a drunk man who spends 30 minutes disrupting my meal.
That’s a beautiful story. Your father must have been a loving man. This verse comes to mind: Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Many years ago my son noticed a man with a port wine stain covering most of his face and asked about it. I told him that God created him that way and he was one of God’s special friends. When we were paying our bill at the diner my son ran from me to the man and put his arms up to be picked up. The man looked at me then picked up my son, he then ran his hand over the mans face and said how beautiful his face was and to tell Jesus hello from him. No one could speak, we all cried and the man mouthed the words thank you. I should have thanked him since he taught me that words matter..what your children hear you say and how you treat people..they watch and become the person you have inspired them to be.
I am reminded of one when my daughter was about 4. We were eating at a restaurant that had a small dance floor. Our table was right beside it. A dwarf couple was wrapped in each other arms dancing to the music. We were all thinking, how ridiculous do they look and feeling embarrassed for them I suppose. Our daughter was delighted and yelled “hey you little guys” and jumped from her chair to the dance floor to join them. They were just as delighted with her and for a few minutes they all swayed to the music.
I always call Emmanuel God with a human face.
Thank-you for that reflection.
Your welcome. It was such a beautiful story I felt I needed to share it.
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