Little Hands

I was away from home for a few days again, and I missed my family terribly. The time I have with them is too short, too packed with things to do and places to be. I find myself longing for the salad days when my kids were babies and I had time to actually read a book for fun every now and again.

It may be that as soon as Halloween get here I automatically begin to feel the pressure of the Holiday season bearing down on me. The hoopla that comes along with it; either the kind we create or the kind that others establish as necessities makes it difficult to appreciate really what we're celebrating.

This morning, I awoke to my son snuggled in bed beside me. He was so happy to just be with me that he smiled and said, "I missed you." from his still closed eyes. I rolled over and hugged him, told him I missed him too and then took his hand in mine.

He squeezed my hand in return.

How many times have I held my son? How many times have I held his hands as I used to sit in the rocking chair with him when he was so small. It struck me this morning as he squeezed my hand just how blessed I am. My husband loves me, my daughter loves me, my son loves me - so much love surrounds me. God love me, more than I can even imagine. God loves me! Then I could go on to all the extended family and friends that are there for me, that care for me, and that love me. But by now, I'm sure you get the idea - there are alot of people that love me and I see that and appreciate that so much.

Mary the mother of Jesus probaby held her child's hand, rocked him and saw and felt how he missed her if she had been away for a day... she was a Mom just like me. Her son's love for her was so big that he was willing to miss a great deal in life. I can't imagine the loss she felt when she saw his hands injured and bleeding. They were her little one's hands'.

Jesus gave himself as a ransom for the world. Jesus sacrificed his life so that others could live. Jesus essentally took the world by the hand and said, "I missed you - so I gave myself up to make a way for us to be close."

Jesus had little hands once, but his hands grew up and became the hope for all of us. So as the holidays rush towards me, I hope to remember that Christmas can be a time where I reach out to others: family, friends, strangers; with my heart and hands. It can be a time where I can say, "I missed you." or "Get out of my way - I'm in a hurry."

What lessons we can learn from little hands. They now how to get to the heart of the matter and stay there.