HAND IN HAND

North Royalton Christian Church is a parish I have served since January of 1995 and it has never had any more than 60 members since I’ve been there, in fact, we usually have 25-35 people every Sunday for our 10:00 worship service; we have another 200 that may tune in to watch via FaceBook Live.  It’s small, very small and we usually spend more time drinking coffee and eating in the wonderful goodies folks bring in for Coffee Hour following the worship service.  We may pack in a whopping 45-55 folks if we have a Potluck dinner but we really turn out when it comes to outreach or supporting a cause.  On Christmas morning we’ll take down nearly two hundred pair of new gloves to St Augustine, a saintly place that feeds the homeless and the indigent.  They’ll leave with a full stomach, bags of leftovers and some warm gloves for cold hands.          .          .

My hand shakes
can you still it
My hand is cold
can you warm it
My hand is extended
can you reach it
My hand touches
can you feel it
My hand is empty
can you fill it

A hand in a hand
never leaves it shaking
                           cold
                              unfelt
                              empty

A hand in a hand
a human interwoven tapestry
that completes a single One
to a single Another

Just because a hand is outstretched
doesn’t mean it’s going to be grasped
. . .offer it any
                      ways

or there’s another way to view it:

“Grandma how do you deal with pain?”

“With your hands, dear. When you do it with your mind, the pain hardens even more.”

“With your hands, grandma?”

“Yes, yes. Our hands are the antennas of our Soul. 

When you move them by sewing, cooking, painting, touching the earth or sinking them into the earth, they send signals of caring to the deepest part of you and your Soul calms down. 

This way she doesn’t have to send pain anymore to show it.

“Are hands really that important?”

“Yes my girl. Think of babies: they get to know the world thanks to their touch.

When you look at the hands of older people, they tell more about their lives than any other part of the body.

Everything that is made by hand, so it is said, is made with the heart because it really is like this: hands and heart are connected.

Think of lovers: When their hands touch, they love each other in the most sublime way.”

“My hands grandma… how long since I used them like that!”

“Move them my love, start creating with them and everything in you will move.

The pain will not pass away. But it will be the best masterpiece. And it won’t hurt as much anymore, because you managed to embroider your Essence.”
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Just what are you doing with your hands
.            .            .don’t doubt
Some One could
b        e        n        e        f        i        t