Hands

[Guest guest]

Hands

An old man, probably some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the park bench.

He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands.

When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I

sat I wondered if he was ok.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the

same time, I asked him if he was ok.

He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. Yes, I'm fine, thank you for

asking, he said in a clear strong voice.

I didn't mean to disturb you, sir, but you were just sitting here staring at

your hands and I wanted to make sure you were ok I explained to him.

Have you ever looked at your hands he asked. I mean really looked at your

hands?

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up

and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I

tried to figure out the point he was making.

Then he smiled and related this story:

Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you

well throughout your years.

These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used

all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.

As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer.

They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.

They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life.

They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war.

They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.

They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son.

Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and

loved someone special.

They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and

spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle.

Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole and lifted a

plow off of my best friends foot.

They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I

didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of

my body.

They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw.

And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands

hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take

when he leads me home.

And He won't care about where these hands have been or what they have done.

What He will care about is to whom these hands belong and how much He loves

these hands.

And with these hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these

hands to touch the face of Christ.

I never saw the man again. I do know that I'll never take my hands for granted

or look at them in the same way again.

~ " If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the

entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. "