We do everything with our hands -- Almost
About two days into her life of a broken arm, trying to adjust to the pain and suffering and not being able to use her right arm -- she is a righty -- BW moaned, "It is amazing what you can't do with just one hand, one arm."
So, I became her right hand man and much of her left hand man also. A long time ago we promised each to love in sickness or health. We still mean it.
That caused me to ponder about our wonderful hands and how they serve us. How do people function without them? I was visiting my mother near the end of her life, and she looked at her hands and said, "My old hands look pretty tough. They are beat up and look bad."
Truth be told she was right, because at age 88 her hands looked their age. However, I didn't see them as she did for I remembered all of the things she had done for me with those hands and I thought they looked beautiful.
Take a moment and look at your hands. Turn your palms down then up, flex your fingers, check out the fingernails, the veins that feed them and the tendons that attach to your fingers. Consider what your hands do for you. Nearly everything you do involves your hands and they perform all day every day and we seldom think about it until an injury or disease renders them less useful. Hands are the tools that we use to reach out and embrace life in all aspects. One of the first things I noticed about our babies and our grandbabies was the movement of their little fingers. When those babies grabbed hold of my finger I was hooked for life. My eyes mist a bit even now when I think about that moment. Later the hands and fingers give indication that babies are developing properly. They begin to notice their hands. They wiggle their fingers and begin to reach out and grab noses, ears, earrings, glasses, buttons and even though we are slightly annoyed by this we rejoice that the little nipper shows signs of normality.
"Go wash your hands, we are ready to eat" is a common phrase. Children handle and chew on everything, pick up everything from soup to nuts and explore every orifice on their bodies so washing is mandatory. Learning to feed oneself is a long process. As life progresses hands hug, tie shoes, hold pencils, drive cars, garden, hold wedding bands, wash us, comb hair, break falls, hold us up, lay us down, comfort those in need, provide our living, fix and repair, wave to friends, swat a wayward child, prepare food, treat the ill, dress our bodies and hundreds of other things that involve life.
One day I trust that God will reach down his massive hand and take mine in his and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joys of the Lord."
My website Larryvandeventer.com - Read about me, my books, and my columns. Larry Vandeventer grew up North of Calvertville on a farm and graduated from Worthington High School and Indiana State U. He can be reached at Goosecrick@aol.com or 317-839-7656.
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