*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
(Historien er fra denne bloggen og profilen hennes)
I’ve been married to a very sweet, patient, loving man for 31 years. I’ve been a mom to two sons I love with all my heart for 23 years. I’ve been a born again Christian loving the Lord for 38 years. I homeschooled for 14 years. I’ve run a Blanket Ministry for the homeless since 2009. I am the author of Ya Know What I’m Say’n: Hearing the Voice of the Homeless. I’m just an ordinary woman who lives for an extraordinary God.
Men nå er det mandag igjen og helga har gått så fort. Men helga har det ikke vært kjedelig for min del.
Det brenner alltid inne meg å kunne lage noe med mine hender. Stadig på jakt etter noe jeg kunne lage.
I går fant jeg denne heklet bamsen….
i denne boken
Og da var det bare å sette i gang. Og når jeg er ivrig etter å bli ferdig med noe, går det ganske fort.
Voila! Her er min versjon av heklet bamse. Kan du foreslå navn på den?
Ellers måtte jeg ha mat innimellom. Filippinsk mat.
Denne kyllingen er kokt i kokos med sitron gress, ingefær, hvitløk, løk, gulrøtter, chili. og celery.
Mannen min elsket det.
Her er en rett som heter Kaldereta på Filippinsk språk. Består av biff strimler, gulrøtter, poteter, celery, hvitløk, løk, brokkoli og kaldereta saus.
Eggene la jeg bare i gryten fordi den var for bløtkokt da vi skulle spise kokt egg til frokost og jeg likte ikke det.
Det ble kokt enda mer og vi kunne spise det sammen med gryteretten.
Denne retten består av blekksprut og var først kokt i eddik, hvitløk, laurbærblad, chili, salt og pepper før jeg blandet kokosmelk og løk.
Mannen min fikk smake denne retten hos min mor engang da vi var der på besøk hos henne på Filippinene. Og han elsket det. Så derfor laget jeg denne retten for han.
Litt påskepynt på kjøkken bordet
Solen har også vært på besøk og jeg fikk se solnedgangen.
Avslutter med ord til ettertanke
Ingen kan unngå å bli gammel,
og man oppnår bare å narre seg selv ved å ikke innrømme
at man blir gammel.
Og siden det ikke tjener til noe ¨å kjempe mot naturen,
