Your hands; Jesus' hands....

My hand?

"What happened to your hand?" she asked.
I looked at it.
It was flat on the table during tutoring time.
"What do you mean?"
 I turned my hand
over to get a better look at what 
she might be seeing.
 It looked okay to me.

"Those dark lines. What are they?"
I placed my hand on the table next to hers
and understood her questions.
My hand had dark lines mapping the surface.
Her hand was smooth, clear, and not-so-bony.
Hmmmm....




This is an "age" thing I thought. Here I thought I was doing a good job of applying face cream every night, walking during the day to keep up my over-all muscle strength--and then an eleven year old girl comes along and asks,

 "What's wrong with your hand?"

 

 

Her hand....

"Well," I explained,
 "my hands are just older than yours.
Those dark lines are veins,
and my skin is wearing out --
a little."








I did a quick mental list of all the things my hands had done in my lifetime--from doing pig and chicken chores; 1000s of dishes in hot, soapy water; changing diapers (the cloth kind--unheard of now); handling chalk; correcting papers; moving furniture; folding laundry... and started to grow weary. Let me see--I'd rather think about the the tender touches given to a child, the feel of a bubble bath, the solid shake of a hand, and making funny bunny shadows --Or, the "hand game?"--hands stacked on top of each other--the bottom hands slips out and ends up on top...

There are 27 bones in a human hand...

 The reason why hands have a number of bones is

because they are the main structures

for physically manipulating the environment....

I recently attended a funeral. A sister of my best-friend-from-highschool had passed after a courageous struggle with cancer. As her family entered the church, my friend scanned the congregation. When she spotted me, I placed my hand over my heart and then motioned to her as in my-heart-is-with-you. She answered with the same motion.

After the burial, we simply held hands. No words were needed.

Fingers are some of the densest areas of nerve endings on the body,

are the richest source of tactile feedback, and

have the greatest positioning capability of the body;

thus the sense of touch is intimately associated with hands.

 

 

As a carpenter's son, Jesus must have used his hands to shove stones into place, absorb timber splinters, and withstand the blistering Middle Eastern sun. However, these same hands restored sight to the blind, healed a leper, washed the disciples' feet, and spared more than one suffering soul from death.

 

 

 

 

Luke 4:40:

“When the sun was setting,

all those who had any that were sick

with various diseases brought them to Him;

and He laid His hands on every one of them

and healed them.”

 

 

 

 

  

 

These hands were soon  pierced with nails as he lay upon the cross....

 

 

Pierced to pay for our sins;

pierced so that we might live eternally.....

a gift......

a blessing beyond blessings....

Whether soft or weathered, barely-used or much-used, how can our hands become a blessing to others?

*Preparing a favorite meal....
*Writing a note of encouragement...
*Greeting in church on Sunday mornings...
*Raking a neighbor's yard (without being asked)...
*Wiping a tear or a runny nose....
*Holding a hand...
*Praying...

May God take them and use them

for His glory!

 

 

 

Information on hands taken from Wiki Encyclopedia..