JUST LOOK AT THE PICTURE A GOOD WHILE, AND THEN READ THE REST. IT WILL TOUCH YOU.
I was privileged to take a photo of 'Five Generations of Women 'Grandma's Hands
GRANDMA'S HANDS A must read thru to the end please!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Grandma,
some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.. She didn't
move, just sat with her head down staring at her
hands.
When I
sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer
I sat I wondered if she was OK.
Finally,
not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the
same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked
at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a
clear voice strong...
'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her.
'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she 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 she was making.
Grandma 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 held my husband and wiped my tears when he 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 my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried both my parents and spouse.
'They have held my children and grandchildren, 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
life.
But
more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and
take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His
side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of
God.'
I will
never look at my hands the same again. But I remember God reached out
and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt
or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think
of grandma. I know she has been stroked and caressed and held by
the hands of God...
I, too,
want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon
my face.
