Gift of God - Don't Take It For Granted

by **Clareesa** Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:05 am

This is something I wrote for fun. Tell me what you think...

I grabbed my bags and stuffed the change into my pocket.
"Merry Christmas" the lady smiled at me and handed me my receipt. I grunted in reply, I certainly didn’t feel very "merry". I walked outside into the frosty air.
I began five-minute trek home. The milk and frozen pizza dough felt like ice-cubs against my hands. I hoped mom wouldn’t send me out to run any more errands for her.
I shivered and shook the snow off my shoes as I walked into the house.
My little sister, Tara tugged at my shirt. I ignored her. "I’m back mom!" I plopped the grocery’s into the counter. My sister kept tugging on my shirt.
"What do you want?" I glared down at her.
"Mommy says you have to take me for a walk." In her hands she held her gloves and hat.
"Not now, I’m busy."
She stuck her lower lip out. "But mom said!"
"Fine."
Five minutes later I was back out in the cold air, this time leading a curly haired six year-old behind me.
As we passed the neighbor-hood block I noticed a man sitting on the park bench. I’d see him before, he was there almost every day I walked to school. His clothes looked pretty worn, and he looked like he could use a nice hair-cut.
The man smiled at Tara and she giggled.
Then I noticed something I hadn’t noticed before. In his arms he held a bundle of blankets. He caressed them in his arms as if they were all he lived for.
I paused for a moment and couldn’t help but stare. The man looked down at the bundle in his arms and smiled.
Then he motioned Tara to come closer. I grabbed for her, but she ran over.
I rolled my eyes. I figured the man was probably some half crazy, homeless creep. "Tara! Come on!"
Tara ignored my calling.
The man looked up at me. His eyes were filled with sorrow, but his face was radiant with joy. "Please, just let her look."
I didn’t have much choice as Tara peeked at the bundle in the man’s arms. "Ohhhh!" she cried with delight.
A baby? I could barely believe what I was seeing when I saw what was inside the bundle.
"Oh! He’s cute!" Tara squealed.
A tear began to slip down the man’s face. "Yes, he is. Would you like to hold him?"
I remember what mom had said about meeting strangers, but there was something about this man…something different. I watched as Tara sat on the bench next to the man. He slowly laid the baby down in Tara’s arms.
"What’s his name?" Tara kept staring down at the baby.
"Matthew."
Tara looked up at me. "Hey! That’s your name!"
I shrugged.
"Do you know what it means?" the man asked me.
"Uh…no."
"Matthew means gift of God" The man smiled broadly. "And that’s what this baby is, as are you."
Tara looked up at the man. "Where’s Matthew’s mommy?"
For a moment I thought the man was going to be angry, but then he smiled warmly. "I’m not really sure."
"Is she shopping?" Tara asked innocently.
"No…she’s…she’s probably having dinner right now."
"But doesn’t she want to have Matthew with her?"
"Because she doesn’t the baby."
"Why?" Tara began crying.
"Well, I guess she just got tied of him."
"Then why do you have him?" Tara shook her head in confusion.
There was a moment of silence. "Tara, we should be going now." I tugged gently at her sleeve.
"Please, stay for just a few more minutes." The man begged.
I sighed. I felt sorry for the man.
He looked at Tara. "I told Matthew’s mommy, if Matthew was going to go, I was going to go too."
"Go where?"
"Oh…where ever the good Lord puts me."
"Where did you put you?"
The man sighed. "Right here."
"But it’s cold here!" exclaimed Tara. She held Matthew tighter.
The man nodded. "But I’ve got plenty of blankets for Matthew."
I couldn’t help but ask, "What do you have to eat?"
"There’s some good folk around here, they supply our needs."
"Isn’t there some shelter or something you could go to?" My heart began to ache in pity for the man.
"The Lord put me and Matthew here, the here is were I’m staying."
"Why? You could freeze to death out here!"
"The Lord keeps me warm. Every night I feel his angels surrounding me, placing there wings around me and Matthew."
I swallowed a lump forming in my throat. "You’re really happy here…aren’t you?"
"I've been given a life, God has blessed me with this child, I have enough food, and enough warmth. I couldn’t ask for more."
"What about a house to live in? A bed to sleep in?"
The man shook his head. "As long as Matthew is happy, I’m happy."
Tara carefully handed the baby back to the man, then leaned over and gave the baby a kiss. "God has blessed you and Matthew." Her words surprised me. These weren’t the words of a six year-old.
The man began crying. He hugged his baby. "Yes, yes he has."
Tears began to fall down my own face. This man was happy, though he didn’t have anything. He was happier than anyone I had ever met.
Tara gave the man a hug, then grabbed my hand. I looked at the man, he was smiling down at the bundle in his arms.
Clutching Tara’s small hand, I thought of everything I had. Everything I didn’t need. Then I thought of my family, a family who loved me. I had taken it all for granted.
I reached the edge of the park, the place where I had originally seen the man and looked back one last time.
Both the man and his baby were gone. I scanned my eyes around the park, they were nowhere to be seen.
Had I imagined it all? I looked down at Tara. She was staring up at the sky, her face was full of joy, the same joy I had seen on the man’s face. "He was a cute baby."
I placed my arm around her and looked up at the sky. A shooting star flew above us. "Yes, Tara. He certainly was."