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THURSDAY THOUGHT 10/9/08

Innocence
 
The other morning, left briefly in charge of Riley, my six-week old granddaughter, I interrupted my reading to pick her up to stop her fussing.  I held her to my chest, lowered my lips to the top of her head and began singing in my low, off-key voice, as I slow-stepped around the room.
 
As I walked and sang, she immediately fell quiet.  I had made her safe, secure.  But just holding her had also brought calm to my soul, as well.  For me, not only did the crises, whirlwinds and battle scars of life fall back and dissolve, but time and distance gently blended together.  I was holding not just Riley, but also her mother, her Uncle Jonny, her Aunt Nicky (my own children so long ago and still), as well as her sister and cousins, my other grandchildren. 
 
My point?  Not sure.  But even as our children grow — as they go out and slay dragons and sometimes get charred medium-well for their efforts — they remain innocent, vulnerable, so very much in need of our love and comforting.  Can we still soothe them by holding them to our breasts?  If only we could.  But we can pray for them and never stop loving them … and make sure they know it.  God bless. — jri
 
“My Riley lies over the ocean.
My Riley lies over the sea.
My Riley lies over the ocean;
oh, bring back my Riley to me.
Bring back, bring back,
oh bring back my Riley to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
oh bring back my Riley to me, to me.”