“I have met people so empty of joy that when I clasped their frosty fingertips it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart. It may be only the clinging touch of a child’s hand, but there is as much potential sunshine in it for me as there is in the loving glance for others” (Helen Keller).
OUR HANDS ARE MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER PART OF OUR BODIES. If our bodies are the instruments through which we do our work in the world, it’s our hands, especially, that do that work. The Book of Ecclesiastes, for example, says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.” Something an individual has accomplished is that person’s “handiwork.” A disadvantage in our work is called a “handicap.” And, of course, something that helps us do our work is described as “handy.” No part of the body is more closely linked to the doings of human beings than the hands.
Have you ever noticed how much hands say about a person’s character? The hands reveal hardly any less than the face. I once met an artist, in fact, who did nothing but hands. She sculpted hands, drew them, painted them, photographed them, and even wrote poems about them, as I recall. Children’s hands and older people’s hands. Rugged hands and delicate hands. Friendly hands and hostile hands. The whole gamut of human feeling and experience was powerfully and beautifully portrayed by these hands, artistically rendered. What a creative gift by this artist!
Most of us have memories of hands we’ve known in the past. Can’t you remember your grandmother’s hands? The hands of your piano teacher? Your baseball coach? These images should remind us: we’re remembered not just for what we are but for what we do.
Having healthy, functional hands is not a thing to be taken for granted; it’s a sober stewardship. With these physical extensions of our will, we can do good or evil, and we’re responsible for our choice in the matter. What we “hand” down to our descendants needs to be something that will invite gratitude rather than regret. And there is not a one of us who can’t do this. No matter who we are, we can do worthy work. With our hands, we can work what is good and honorable and valuable to those who are coming along behind.
Enough, if something from our hands have power
To live, and act, and serve the future hour.
(William Wordsworth)
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
