[Faith-talk] Thought for October 15

[rbacchus228 at gmail.com]

That's a wonderful story thanks for sharing it.

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 15, 2015, at 12:49 PM, Poppa Bear via Faith-talk <faith-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Becoming as little children.
> 
> --Author Unknown  
> 
> 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. Suddenly,
> Erik squealed with glee and said, "Hi there." 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, hi there."
> 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's. Suddenly a veryold
> smelly man and a very young baby consummated their 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, 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 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. You see, m'am, I never saw my child grow up. My
> wife and son were taken from me in an automobile accident when they were
> both too young. I was never able to get over it."
> 
> I said nothing more than a muttered thanks and "I'm sorry to hear that."
> 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. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me...
> 
> "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,
> you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." -- Matthew 18:3 (NIV)
> 
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