I had just returned from Zooming another Sunday Mass with 30 faithful parishioners wearing their masks. My story was about a young man who proposed to his future wife. But there was a catch. His future wife was a caregiver to her sister with Downs Syndrome and diabetes. If he wanted her hand in marriage, he would have to include her sister in their life together.
No problem for this young man. The image I projected on the screen showed a field of flowers and he is giving a family heirloom ring to her sister. Next, he was on bended knee for his future spouse was next in line. What a friend!
So now home from Sunday Mass, I decided to take a book and head for the stream, set up my chair in the stream, listening to the water spilling over the rocks. A book, cup of iced tea, and a shady tree—the perfect afternoon! As I opened my book, I said to myself, “I cannot believe this is happening!” The story I am reading is about a mom who also had a quiet moment from being quarantined when she experienced the following moment.
“About 20 minutes into reading, I saw two brown eyes on top of a blonde head suddenly peer at me from over the edge of my book. Instantly, I knew it was my six-year-old daughter, who had apparently made her way quietly downstairs. I guess in her attempt not to interrupt my reading, she had crawled on the floor so that she was now right in front of me, eyes peering over my book.
My first internal response to seeing her was not, Oh, how cute! I’ll be honest. I felt agitated, and my interior monologue was going something like this: How dare she interrupt me! Doesn’t she know I’m reading a spiritual book, trying to grow my relationship with God?
Thankfully, none of these words came out of my mouth. Instead, we just starred at each other for a few minutes in quiet, those big brown eyes of love just peering into my eyes. She finally said, “Mom, do you want to play with me?”
I thought to myself, No, I just want to read this book about God and about finding God in all things. Again, thankfully, I didn’t speak any words out loud.
Internally, I was trying to calm myself down from being interrupted from doing the reading that would help me find God in all things and people. As I did, I continued to peer into my daughter’s eyes. Then, clear as day these words came into my mind: Becky, don’t you see me?
I’m right here.
Tears welled in my eyes. I suddenly saw Christ peering right at me in the shape of a blonde-haired, brown-eyed six-year-old inviting me to play.
I closed my book, set it aside, and invited my daughter up onto my lap. As I embraced her, I knew I was embracing not only her, but Christ as well. Is there anything more extraordinary than that?”
