I was asked to share this so here it is....


JUST LOOK AT THE PICTURE A GOOD WHILE,

AND THEN READ THE REST. IT WILL TOUCH YOU.

GRANDMA'S HANDS

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench.
She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.

When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence

and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check

on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK.

She raised her head and looked at me and smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," she
said in a clear voice strong.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just

sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure

you were OK," I explained to her.

"Have you ever looked at your hands," she asked.

"I mean really looked at your hands?"

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them.

I turned them over, palms up and then palms down.

No, I guess I had never really looked at
my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have,

how they have served you well throughout your years.

These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been

the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab

and embrace life.

"They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I

crashed upon the floor.

They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back.

As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer.

They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.

They held my husband and wiped my tears when

he went off to war.
"They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.

They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my

newborn son.



Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world

that I was married and loved someone special

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I
buried my parents and spouse.

"They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors,

and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed

and cleansed the rest of my body.

They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken,dried
and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else

of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down,

and again continue to fold in prayer.

"These hands are the mark of where I've been

and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands

that God will reach out and take when he leads me home.



And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I

will use these hands to touch the face of Christ."

I will never look at my hands the same again.



But I remember God reached out and took my grandma's hands

and led her home.

When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face

of my children and husband I think of grandma.

I know she has been stroked and caressed and

held by the hands of God.

Mariabee, You know I had to look for it. For those who want to hear it, there are several versions in Youtube.

Here is one of them. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0mCU63FiNj0&feature=related

I have always liked Bill Withers.

Your both quite welcome and thank you Maria I never heard that song before its sweet.

That was beautiful, BG. Thank-you.
It reminds me, though, that I always have thought that my grandmother and my mother have had the most beautiful hands! Industrious, wise, able, elegant...and possessing a vitality that belied their ages. I loved those hands

Along the same lines, have you ever heard "Grandma's Hands" (a song) by Bill Withers? When it plays, I can't sing along without crying. It is simply beautiful.

The lyrics are:

Grandma's hands
Clapped in church on Sunday morning
Grandma's hands
Played a tambourine so well
Grandma's hands
Used to issue out a warning
She'd say, "Billy don't you run so fast
Might fall on a piece of glass
"Might be snakes there in that grass"
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Soothed a local unwed mother
Grandma's hands
Used to ache sometimes and swell
Grandma's hands
Used to lift her face and tell her,
"Baby, Grandma understands
That you really love that man
Put yourself in Jesus hands"
Grandma's hands

Grandma's hands
Used to hand me piece of candy
Grandma's hands
Picked me up each time I fell
Grandma's hands
Boy, they really came in handy
She'd say, "Matty don' you whip that boy
What you want to spank him for?
He didn' drop no apple core"
But I don't have Grandma anymore

If I get to Heaven I'll look for
Grandma's hands

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mariabee,

Sometimes when I read the posts on Forum I can jump right in and make some silly comment that I hope makes everyone smile.
Sometimes I have to think about the post for a while before I say something that I hope will help.
HOWEVER, this picture and the story have left me speechless.
Thank you BG. (My granny will be 99 in April!)