Humanitarian Godly Hands…

A Word from God.

“I haven’t dropped you. Don’t panic.

I’m here with you.

There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.

I’ll give you strength.

I’ll help you.

I’ll hold you steady., keep a firm grip on you…

Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.

I’ve called your name. You’re mine.

When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.

When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- because I am God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior.

I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!

THATS how much you mean to me!

THATS how much I love you!

I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” (Isaiah 41:9-10; 43:2-4 MSG).

Gods Spirit keeps stirring within me on this subject…

Hands.

God took His hands and placed them into the dirt and formed man with His hand..

Jesus’s nail scarred hands hammered to the cross…

I carry that image in my mind daily…

He still feels the nails, every time I fail.

And every time I fall, those same hands pick me back up.

When I need comforting, His Hands pat me on my shoulder, embrace me in warm hugs.

When I’m sad and my eyes leak the emotions in my heart, His hands wipes every year, and collects them into heavenly bottles for Heavens purpose- never is a tear wasted.

When I’m in need of companionship, He places His hand in mine.

When I achieve a goal or reach a milestone, Gods hands applaud me, cheers me on.

When I’m sick, His hands are laid on me to heal me.

God said ‘See? I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. I have written your name on the palms of My hands… I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands….” (Isaiah 49:16 NIV, NLT, ESV, NAS, MSG)

God loves me.

So much that He permanently inscribed my name on His Hand as a remembrance.

He says “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I’ll never forget you— NEVER.” (Vs 15-18)

(And for the record- THIS momma can NEVER forget or walk away from her children she bore!)

God can never forget those He has engraved on the palms of His hands.

Every time He sees His own scarred hands, He sees you.

I’ll always remember the feel of my babies hands holding onto mine, and patting me with their hands.

That precious innocent complete act of trust…each one special to me- My mind replays thousands upon thousands of scenes in my memory bank of them… as infants, as toddlers, as preschoolers, as school aged children, as preteens, as teens, and as adults… That reassuring feel of comforting touch that hands bring-so special!

I wrote this three years ago as two different posts- on two different dates-yet today they have deeper meaning, more profound meaning for us today.

Today, we said ‘see you later’ to our daughter and son-in-law, who are missionaries heading to Africa for 2 years., serving in the Peace Corp. Watching MY baby, put her hands in her husband’s… Knowing their hands are firmly planted in God’s hands regardless of where, brings me comfort and peace.

This past weekend, watching all the gathered immediate family and extended family hold hands, shake hands, embrace in tight hugs with hands, patting love taps on backs with hands, reinforced to me how amazing and perfectly formed are our hands.

Seeing our sons shake hands with tears overflowing in church… seeing our daughters hold each other tightly in the tightest embrace while trying to be brave fighting off tears, losing because of a sibling love so strong LOVE wins…

Seeing grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins hands interact with loving touches-

It is its own love language-

The language of Hands.

Today, these hands waved a proverbial farewell… but never a goodbye. Only see ya later.

As we trust in our God, who formed us with His guiding Hand, and protects us with His Hand- we know we send them off AS the hands of Christ.

In the months to come, their hands will become calloused from fielding the bush for food, carrying water buckets to and from the well for mile’s each day, forming a daily fire to cook and boil water, scrubbing their laundry, doing the work they were created and called to do.

These hands will encourage one another., and will work together.

These hands are anointed.

They will be used to praise and worship God high and lifted up. These hands will be used to clap as they sing with the locals. These believers hands will be used to lay on the sick, and the sick shall recover.

These hands will be used in acts of service- consecrated and dedicated to each other and to God.

Someday, these hands will hold our grandchildren, but for now, they hold all of our hope, love, and prayers.

But no fears, and no cares- Those were all cast to the Father God.

Little Children’s Imaginary ‘Friends’ Have Spiritual Purpose

Often times, little children have imaginary ‘friends’.

To them, they ‘see’ their ‘friends’ as real people. They confide in them. They are content for hours spending time with them.

They talk with them, eat with them, play with them- as if they are REAL people.

Little children are given great imaginations by God! They love to sit on the floor and pretend real life situations and act them out.

They make up stories, acting out with dolls, or toy cars, or they ‘play’ house or doctor, policeman, cowboy etc.

Many times when my children were little, they’d say “Mommy, come play with me!”

And quickly they’d assign me a position-a role to act out “You be the mommy, I’ll be the baby.”

Without effort on their part, they’d come up with the most natural conversations as they play-acted. But for me, it was not as easy to ‘pretend’ anymore as a grown up.

I loved watching my children play alone content with their ‘imaginary friends.’

They’d be oblivious to me standing in the doorway,observing their conversations, lost in play as if I was the invisible one and their ‘friend’ was more real than me.

I believe God gave little children the gift of imagination, and especially imagination friends for a reason.

It teaches them at a young age to be comfortable with themselves talking out loud to an ‘invisible’ yet very important figure in their life they believe to be real.

Colossians 1:15 (NLT) “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation”

The gift of a childlike imagination is from God. Children have innate unquestionable faith. They ‘see’ with the pure, undefiled eyes of faith.

Playtime for a little child with an unseen ‘real’ friend, is prayer preparation time with an unseen REAL God!

I believe God gave little children the gift of imaginary friends to allow them to grow comfortable talking out loud to their unseen friend/s, so that without question they will be able to ‘see’ Jesus, and talk with God whom they can’t see, but know is there.

When we ‘see’ Jesus as our real, personal living friend- when we become comfortable as as child talking with Him openly and anything and everything- we will ‘become as a child.’

“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)