The Man.

..I rarely get the second to sit down and write.
Period.
My life is TOO busy.

We get so caught up, and we're all guilty.
Our life.
Our schedule.
The days fly by...

Then... Last week, Something so simple...
yet, so beautiful happened in my life.

And for a brief moment or two... My day stood still.

I hope this simple little story... touches you... as much as it did me.

......

I was rejoicing at the fact that the day was finally over on Friday. It had been super busy.. with errands to run, people to see and my VERY energetic two year old at my heels all day. (Which is a handful, but I love it.)

Jeremy and I decided we would sneak away with the little guy... and grab some seafood alone. The ride to the restaurant was filled with conversation, laughter... and constant "talk about Jonah"... :) Moments before we arrived, I glanced back at our boy and noticed that he had fallen completely asleep after the last verse of "Praisssssssssssee ye the Lord!!!" (New cd.)

We pulled into the restaurant.. and I picked Jonah up asleep and hauled him in. We were almost starting our salads when he decided to grace us with his "awake-ness" :) Our table was facing a huge window overlooking the outside street. We grabbed Jonah a plate and all began to eat... Laughing along the way at Jonah's funny comments!

Suddenly, Our 2 year old... got a far away look in his eyes as he was looking outside the open window... and said very seriously, "Mommy, wook... der a man outside." (Translation: Mommy, look there's a man outside.) .... Jeremy and I giggled and thought he must have such a creative imagination... and totally laughed it off. Until, Nearly thirty five minutes later... He continued to wave at, blow kisses towards and stare consistently at "this man". Jeremy and I made absolute sure... and there was NO man that we could see or anywhere near outside. Finally, getting a little concerned and ending our meal... Jeremy began to question him.

"Jonah what color is the man's hair?" ... "black, daddy. longgggg black hair."

By this time, as parents ... we were getting a little uneasy.

"What about his clothes son?.. what color?" ...

Jonah took a close look.. stared for a second... and said, "red and black.... red and black.... red and black." (Because two year olds say everything at least twice.)

Then Jonah said, "Mommy, him has a hat! See!!!" And he would continue to smile and wave.

Jeremy and I were completely confused and ready to put an end to his "imaginary friend" game.. and head towards home... we grabbed him up... and the bill and left.

LATER, we asked him about "the man" and he couldn't remember any of it. He giggled and we realized the memory was gone...

....

Saturday Morning, I promised my parents we were heading to the lake spend the afternoon with them... Jonah was super excited. In the busyness of the day, I stood instructing Jonah to get his shoes on while I flipped a grilled cheese for a quick heading out lunch... I popped him in his high chair and there he was ... drinking juicy juice when suddenly he focused on our kitchen window. Eyes completely directed at a particular place in the yard.

He got SO excited and squealed with delight, "MOMMYYY! See, der's dat MAN!!!" I have to say ... it hit me with a little bit of a shock. I turned towards him and said, "What man baby?" ....

"See dat man outside??? See Mommy! By dat tree. "(He pointed at a small dogwood tree in our yard.) I instantly walked towards the bathroom where Jeremy was getting ready and told him Jonah was talking about "that man" again. It was starting to seriously concern me.

I walked back in the kitchen and very calmly tried to watch... as he waved at the man... I could see NO ONE. Just the slight movement of wind in the trees outside. But he was focused in.

..I decided to test him.

I asked him about his hair and clothes color.
He answered EXACTLY the same as the night before.

"Black hair, Mommy!"... "Him clothes red and black... red and black..."

He'd make comments like.. "See Man!! Hi Man.".... After this went on for quite a while...
I called one of my Aunts and told her what was going on.

She got very quiet for a second and said, "Gen, go show Jonah the Hoffman Head (Portrait of Jesus) in your living room."

I rolled him in there ... highchair and all.

Pointed at the picture, took a breath and said the words very slowly, "Jonah, is that the man?"

He sat there a second... really taking in the picture.

And then, he said, "MOMMY!!!! Dats the man at the WINDOW!"
"Him OUTSIDE!!.. Hi, Man."

I felt my breath stop in my chest and I couldn't help the heavy tears that had began rolling down my cheeks. I had never even took notice in my busy world...but Jesus' clothing in the picture was a dark burgundy gown with a black sash. And to a little boy... it would have been ... "red and black... red and black"..

He asked instantly to get down from the high chair... and he ran back to the window to see if he was still there. He was.

My Aunt Missy and I were a mess on the phone, but I couldn't help it. It had touched my heart... in a way that was so simple. Yet, so great.

Jonah sat by the window a lot that afternoon... "The man" according to Jonah stayed a while... At points I would watch Jonah from the other side of the room... and he would offer a wave and a smile to "the man".

Evening time came and even now... He can't remember anything about the man he saw that day. Even though he described him exactly the same twice... upon seeing him.

Jeremy and I... Both of our lives were touched. By the simplicity and honesty of all this.

Someday, I hope to remind him... about the time as a little tiny boy... He told his Dad and I about "The Man" that stood outside our window... "The Man" that made him smile... "The Man" that looked so much like Jesus.

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