Put Your Hands Together

Hands On Experiences
I've been thinking about "Hands" a lot this month.  Our hands are pretty incredible instruments or tools.  I do not have lovely, graceful hands.  I got the short stubby finger gene and playing piano was a real "reach" for my fingers, if you'll pardon the pun.  However, I come from a long line of do-it-yourselfers who rely on our hands, to make life better.  I did have an ancestor who probably had lovely white hands and lived in her English manor, but insisted on marrying a  mere clerk and setting off for America in the 1840's. Instead of ringing the bell and asking the maid to remove the tea things, she found herself in the wilds of central Missouri doing everything for her family "by hand".
I started thinking of what capable hands the women (and men) of my family have had:  their hands have built homes, cleaned homes, killed chickens, plucked feathers, made the chicken into dinner and sewed pillows using the feathers, made quilts and clothes, knitted many articles, turned pages of the Bible and taught children how to read books, soothed fussy babies, smoothed hair or troubled faces, arranged flowers, set lovely tables, refinished furniture, painted and papered walls, driven cars, trucks and tractors, operated telephone switchboards, made jams and jellies, canned food for families, corrected an errant child, hugged and loved on the same errant child, washed dishes, planted gardens, bottle fed calves, pounded gavels at meetings, taken food to the needy and any other task needed to keep their families and communities safe and growing.  I realize all our pioneer ancestors had to do these things, but my family still does!
I do a lot of those same things and try to maintain the "handy" legacy.  My daughter got married this summer and it was a handmade wedding.  I sewed 2 wedding dresses, just to make sure I got one right--she was not at home so she then chose the one she wanted!  We made silk flower arrangements and decorations by hand, stirred up 24 dozen brownies for the reception, cut wildflowers from our garden for the tables.  Her friends and our family also helped wash fruit, curl hair and do makeup, play violins, throw wheat at the happy couple and cleanup afterward.
It was a beautiful wedding and fun time thanks to "many hands making light work!"
  We use our hands in many ways to bless others...and God designed our hands and us for this reason!
Our hands also tell a story..my hands are covered with age spots from too much tractor driving even though I wore gloves, and some dirt under my nails from time to time testifies to my time in my garden.  Right now they have black spray paint remnants from a project and the real kicker is that I am wearing an ace wrap on my left hand!
I have gained a new appreciation for hands, being as I am "short handed" right now.  It is really slowing me down as I use my left hand a lot more than I realized and it hurts now to use it for some things.  I have a new empathy for the many people who have arthritis or have lost the use of their hand(s) for some reason.

Lift up your hands...even if I'm unable to do something right now, or can't always be available to "lend a hand", I can always lift my hands in praise to our Father God who does all things well.  The most important thing I can do for my family or anyone I want to help is to pray.  I can bless others with my hands but God can bless others through my prayers and supply those things I can not, which brings us to:

Hands Off!
         I've been attending the Bible study, Seated, mentioned in our Lovely Branches website and learned something that I'm still trying to grasp.  Sometimes God wants me to just sit down and rest in Him, trust in Him and even sit on my hands..in other words, let go and let Him work in a situation.  He does not need my help nor is it even help if I try to "fix" things when He is the one with the plan and ability to do whatever is needed.  Actually, I ought to get out of the way! Well, this was disconcerting news to a "Martha", a do-it-yourself type such as myself.  How freeing though and a little scary. It turns out that everything does not pivot on my ability to fix things...thank goodness and thank God!!  I can trust Him to work and do those things I can not.
Give yourself a hand-
There are things we can be doing to help ourselves and our families, though. The holidays are coming up.  Now is the time to think about expectations and alternatives.  If you want to simplify things or change how you give thanks and how your family celebrates the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, now is the time to start talking and planning.
Do some fall cleaning and get rid of outgrown clothes or extra knickknacks. Put some casseroles or chili in the freezer for later.  Sip some cider, collect some leaves, carve a pumpkin or make some pumpkin bars.  Rejoice in the things your hands can do!  And praise, pray and give thanks to our Heavenly Father who has us all in His hands.