A Gentle Giant

I'll never forget that moment a few Sundays ago. I had just stepped out of the chapel following sacrament meeting to collect a tithing slip when I turned around.

There, down the long hallway, I found myself looking at the back of a man walking away from me. He was tall and dressed handsomely in a dark suit. His hair was black, speckled with bits of gray. His eye glasses glinted in the light.

Over his shoulder there was a cloth of blue and I could see a hint of a baby snuggled in his arms, wrapped in a warm, soft blanket. He didn't sense my gaze. He bowed his head towards the baby, like he was breathing in its scent. His arms moved in tighter, holding the baby close. He patted the the bundle softly and stroked the baby's hair. Even from my distance, I knew there was kindness in his face and a smile on his lips as he looked down on his baby boy.

My heart swelled from the sight. To see this tall towering man, so gentle, so kind and loving with his tiny son, I was moved.


Love like that is precious beyond measure. It is powerful. It molds you into a person of belief, of hope and allows you to freely give love to others. It gives the child a sense of belonging. It gives the recipient the courage to face the world and all its challenges, because through it all, you have someone there, loving you, giving you strength and support. It allows the child to dare to be themselves and resist the forces that might try to pull them down. It is the love that binds people together for all time.


I will never forget that moment, because their lives are intertwined with mine. They are my own. My family. My tiny babe, wrapped in his father's love and sweet embrace. Wrapped in my heart and memory forever.