'The Hands of Time'

My Dad sent me a message the other day and it's cavorted through my mind, wearing ballet shoes, every since I read it. The type of message that makes you sit up and take notice. So I've been studying my hands, as well as those of others, unobtrusively on the sly.
God gave most of us two of'em. Have you ever really looked at them? They tell a lot about us. Of course, they've changed over the years, according to our deeds and the years we've embraced life.
Take a moment...look closely at your hands. Turn them over, open and close them...feel them.Think of all they've done for you.
I don't know from where the story originated, but I'll point out a few things the story told:
Your hands braced and caught your fall when you were a toddler.
They put food in your mouth and clothes on your back.
Hopefully, you've folded them in many prayers.
Hopefully, you've lifted them to God.
They've tied your shoes or helped pull on your boots.
They've wiped your tears.
If you were a soldier, they've held a rifle in war.
Why, they've been dirty, scratched, scraped, stung, swollen and bent.
They were probably a bit clumsy when you held your first newborn.
We decorate them with rings of friendship and love.
They've wrote letters.
They've lovingly stroked another.
They've trembled when you've lost a loved one.
They've extended to help another.
They've shook hands and touched others.
They've balled in fists of anger.
They've washed your face and the rest of your body.
They've combed your hair.
They've steered a car, or perhaps even a plow or lawn mower.
They hold you up and lay you down.
They show the marks of where you've been and reveal the ruggedness of your life.
But here's the winner...it will be your hands that God will reach out and take when He leads us home. He'll lift us to His side and with these hands we'll be able to touch the face of Jesus. Then it will be God's hands that caress us.
Fold your hands right now and say a prayer of gratitude. Feel the power of life pulsing through them. Amazing, isn't it?