Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Two nights ago, I happened to see a report about four Elmhurst, Queens, New York teenagers who'd been skateboarding in their neighborhood streets the evening before and happened upon a construction dumpster, the depths from which were coming faint crying and bleating. All four stopped to investigate, necessitating that one young man in their number boost another up and into the dumpster, where, after moving some of the dumpster's contents aside, he discovered a newborn infant girl, extremely tiny and with her umbilical cord still attached. The babe had been wrapped in a blanket and stuffed into a paper bag, and until the teens found her, these provided her only protection against evening temperatures that had already fallen into the twenties. While two of the teens remained behind to watch over the infant, the other two dashed to a nearby Police Precinct to summon emergency personnel. The paramedics who responded later advised that the child would surely have died within an hour or two had not the teens acted as swiftly and heroically as they did.

The tiny girl is now in the hospital. She weighs 4 lbs., 7 ounces, and thus far, her initial Apgar Score and progress give medical personnel great hope for her normal development and future. Medical professionals estimate that she was born after only approximately eight months of gestation and was no more than three hours old when discovered in the dumpster. In honor of the coming Holiday, they have for now named the wee girl "Christina".

Regardless of what information may or may not unfold concerning the "who", their age and circumstances, and the "why" and "how" regarding Christina's being abandoned to die, what my focus is on, for now, involves her teen-aged saviors.

The story was accompanied by footage of these four youths, and as I stared at their young faces, peeking from beneath ski caps and above bulky collars/scarves bundled around them against the cold, something more than just my great appreciation, admiration, and respect for them came to the forefront...

One of the youngsters appeared to be Hispanic, one Caucasian, one American of African descent, and one possibly a blend of races. From all four, however, shone eyes bright will every hue of the spectrum in terms of human spirit, character, and potential for great things.

What a perfect Christmas story. An infant born and left to die horribly, had it not been for a group of teens who've not only rejected the restraints of human prejudice to come together as friends... but then acted so heroically and cohesively as a united, mutual-goaled team to save another helpless and otherwise doomed human life. Looking upon those four young faces, how can we adults not stand humbled beyond measure? They are an everlasting testament to the fault, folly, and utter detriment inherent to prejudice and racism. They are proof incarnate that skin color is a matter of God's paint brush and has nothing to do with how He values the souls He's packaged inside. For when the heart of each of those souls are pierced... each and every one bleeds crimson red tears.

Thank you, each of you four wondrous young people, for your heroic example and abiding reminder to a faltering world. Out of the mouths of babes...