HANDS
by JOANNE HALE-RAUCH
HAVE YOU EVER, WHILE SETTING IN MOMENTS OF SOLITUDE, THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR HANDS, AND THE THINGS THEY HAVE DONE AND THE LIVES THEY HAVE TOUCHED THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE.
RECENTLY I READ A PIECE ENTITLED, “GRANDMA’S HANDS” AND IT MADE THINK BACK ABOUT, NOT ONLY MY OWN HANDS, BUT ABOUT THE MANY HANDS OF OTHERS THAT HAVE HELPED ME THROUGHOUT MY OWN LIFE. AND THE HANDS I HAVE TOUCHED THAT HAVE LEFT AN IMPRINT ON MY MEMORY. THE FIRST HANDS THAT I CLEARLY REMEMBER ARE THE HANDS OF MY GRANDPARENTS AS I WALKED BETWEEN THEM DURING OUR 5 BLOCK JOURNEY TO CHURCH, EACH HOLDING A HAND IN THEIRS. I FELT SO SECURE AND LOVED. MY GRANDPARENTS WERE A VERY IMPORTMENT PART OF MY LIFE. I CAN STILL SEE MY GRANDMOTHER’S HANDS AS SHE SAT AT HER SEWING MACHINE AND SEWED THOSE BEAUTIFUL CLOTHES FOR ME AND LATER MY DAUGHTERS. I REMEMBER WATCHING HER HANDS AS SHE CARED FOR HER AGING MOTHER UNTIL HER DEATH.
I ESPECIALLY REMEMBER MY HANDS TOUCHING THE BEAUTIFUL TINY HANDS OF MY CHILDREN RIGHT AFTER THEY WERE BORN.
THE TOUCH OF A HAND ON MY HAIR FROM SOMEONE I LOVED WHEN I HAD A SEVERE HEADACHE.
OUR HANDS ARE GOD GIVEN TO HELP THOSE WE LOVE AND CARE FOR. THE NEXT TIME YOU ARE SITTING QUIETLY, LOOK AT YOUR HANDS AND REMEMBER ALL THE MIRACULOUS THINGS THEY HAVE DONE, AND THE LIVES THEY HAVE TOUCHED.
I LOOK AT MY HANDS NOW AND THINK, I HAVE HANDS LIKE MY GRANDMOTHER’S. MY PRAYER IS THAT MY HANDS CAN BE AS CARING, COMPASSIONATE, AND HELPFUL AS HERS WERE.