Sunday, April 24, 2022

Dear God,

Hands, you ask us to look at our hands.  Are our hands open or fisted?  Are they used for compassionate acts?  Do they hold, embrace and love well?  Or are they used for pushing and shoving?  Do they receive or take?

One of the things I remember most was my grandmother's hands.  They held the word of God.  They fixed our favorite meals.  They grew flowers, berries and vegetables.  They sewed quilts for others.  They canned tomatoes at a local canning factory to have money to buy Christmas gifts.  They were held in the posture of prayer.  They were used to love.

Sometimes my hands are kept to my side instead of reaching out.  Sometimes they are balled up when I grow frustrated.  Sometimes they lack strength to do your will.  Sometimes.

I want my hands to be your hands.  Use them as you will.  Teach me the value of open, loving, giving hands, I pray, O Lord.

Thank you

for my

grandmother's hands

who always

used them

to love us.

Thank you

for teachers,

parents and

neighbors' hands

who helped,

guided and

lifted up.

Thank you

for every hand

that blesses.

Yours, Andrea