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<div align="center"><span style="font-size: 36pt;">~</span><span
style="font-size: 20.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 36pt;">A
Baby's Hug ~</span></div>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.</span> <br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 11.5pt;"></span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.</span><span><span
style="font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">My
husband and I exchanged looks, </span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">'What do
we</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">do?'</span> <br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">Erik
continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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..'</span></div>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">Nobody
thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.</span></div>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 11.5pt;"></span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.</span><span><span
style="font-size: 14.5pt;"> </span></span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 11.5pt;"></span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.'</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">Somehow
I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone.</span></div>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.'</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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, </span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">'My God, my God,
forgive me.'</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">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.</span><span
style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">The
ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of
God , we must become as little children.'</span></div>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">If this
has blessed you, please bless others by sending it on. Sometimes, it
takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always
remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we
feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive
or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you
treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.</span><br>
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<div><span style="color: rgb(192, 0, 0); font-size: 20.5pt;">'It is
better to be liked for the true you, than to be loved for who people
think you are......'(Amen! )</span></div>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
There are none so blind as those who will not open their eyes (liberals)
because dogma is more important than the truth!</pre>
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