Puppies, Babies and The Face of God

We just came home from a walk in the park. A gorgeous, mild sunny day and more dogs and babies than you could shake a stick at. I don't know about you, but God shows up most often to me in images, pictures and visions. And apparantly, in the eyes of puppies and babies.

I love dogs. Ok, not all dogs...not the mop on a leash kind...but the Pluto-Scooby-101 Dalmatians-type dogs. They make me smile. They make me laugh. But more than that, they connect me to the deepest sense of comfort and peace. I've never really thought about it any further, until recently.

People have said that I am a magnet to children and babies. I am drawn to them and they are drawn to me. I'm not a gootchy-gootchy-goo kind of person around them. I see them as little people, old souls I guess. And quite frankly, it's an excuse for me to act downright silly. On more than a few occasions, I have been in a room with alot of other people but I'm the one that the baby stares at or smiles at. To the point that it has "freaked me out" at times. Risking shameless self promotion, I told my best friend about my theory, and she just smiled and said, "I know. I've noticed that too". Right.

Sometimes, though, I feel like there is more going on there.

Like a look of recognition.

I am a mother. I have many babies. I just have never met any of them. I have conceived many times but, because of infertility, have never carried a child to term or given birth. On faith, I believe that my children (and there are alot) are in heaven and we will meet them one day. But on good days, that faith is weak. I have a hard time getting my head around that. A very hard time. Maybe I'll write about that some day. For now, I just take that on faith.

But, when I lock eyes with a baby something very spiritual happens. Like I said, it's a look of recognition. "Oh, you're their mother.." or "I just came from there, they're fine and they're beautiful". There is always a presence in those interactions, and it makes me feel strangely comforted and at peace.

Call me crazy.

But I really believe it's God.