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(I heard this reflection earlier today on Mid West Radio’s “FAITH ALIVE” programme.  I had heard it somewhere before but was struck by it today and thought I’d search for it and use it at Morning Mass.  The search was successful and I was happy to be able to include it in our celebrations of Eucharist in Kilmovee and Kilkelly.)

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-old-retired-man-hands-holding-newborn-infant-one-hand-black-white-image41522214

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 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 drunk, 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 bill and told me to meet him in the car park.

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 very old smelly man and a very young sealed their friendship.  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 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.”

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.

The ragged old man unwittingly, had reminded me, “To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.”

By Vincent

5 thoughts on “A Mother’s Hug”
  1. Vincent

    There are tears in my eyes as I read this.

    I believe I would be like that mother, we are all to quick to judge people by their appearance

    and do not look beyond.

    1. Thanks to you for airing it yesterday morning. It’s a fine piece of work and so true … Have shared at Mass and with children in Kilkelly school today. Was pleased how many of them could tell me they heard (and understood) it yesterday at Mass. God Bless the work Monica. V

  2. oh what a beautiful story my eyes are smarting and how I wish I could see the world and its people through the eyes of a child lovely just lovely . kind regards kathy.

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