Although I am a mother of nine and a grandmother to four and soon to be five grandchildren my encounters with these new grandbabies continues to startle me.
My daughter-in-law was bouncing baby “Daniel” who was fussy and uncomfortable with the typical two-month old digestive problems. He was glassy-eyed and in pain, half crying, half complaining about life as he was held with his back leaning against his mum. I bent down and called out to him “Daniel”. Immediately he snapped to attention and looked me right in the eye with an uncanny intelligence, a piercing look that gave me a jolt intially.Then I started to explain, in a calm voice, that I understood his frustration. His whole body stopped moving, he froze in concentration, soaking in my love and my words and he started to smile, not only with his mouth but his eyes twinkled as I spoke.
” I know it is rough being in this helpless, fragile body where even digesting is painful. I understand how hard it must be when you can’t talk or really communicate clearly but I promise you that it is going to get better. In a month or so the colic will pass and everyday you will discover new ways to communicate to all these adults.”
I knew, that Daniel knew, that I knew that he understood every word that I said. I was speaking to an “old soul”, an intelligent person not a dummy. His expression spoke volumes; he was obviously thrilled that someone connected with his core, his soul or spirit.
We know from medical research the newborns recognize their parents voices and as Christians where are told the we are known by God even in the womb. Western society is finally waking up to the fact that we can talk rationally to newborns and not cute nonsense like they are idiots. Babies need adults to talk to them, to really connect with them, communicate and dialogue with them as equals before God, fellow humans with dignity and worth.
I won’t repeat earlier posts about infant’s intelligence or my experiences as a “baby whisperer”but I must repeat the words of C.S. Lewis because they continue to reverberate within me,”You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” We are body, mind and spirit.
Mary Fredal adds an important reflection on LinkedIn.
Wonderful post by Melanie Jean Juneau ! … ”You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” -C.S. Lewis … While this article is about little babies, but the same is true for every single person, including those at every age who cannot speak with us due to disability or infirmity or trauma, and including those who can speak… Let your words and deeds speak to a person’s animating, internal soul and not just their external body which houses their soul…
Now, I could usually tell what my babies need by their bodily movements, facial expressions and by theintensityy, sharpness, or lower tones of their cries. However, even though I had nine kids and I consider myself to be a baby whisperer, I just learned from my daughters there are four different cries a new-born makes. A cry starting with
