Hands



 Two years ago as I hurried around to get ready for company, I slammed the ring finger of my right hand into the wall in the laundry room. I didn’t break it, but several doctor appointments and months of therapy later, I could just barely bend it. Now, three years later, it works quite well, but I’ve never been able to get any of my cherished rings over the knuckle, which has been a source of disappointment for me.

This week I’ve come into contact with three women whose hands have been injured or disfigured. Older skin seems to pop when accidentally smacked on the simplest of surfaces; a counter corner, drawer edge, or doorjamb.  This can leave a nasty gash which can even need stitches. This was the first woman’s injury, and while to some it might seem minor, to her it was very painful and serious.

The second woman I’ve known for awhile, and realized on our first meeting that her fingers were bent and twisted with arthritis.  Even her thumbs bend backward at an awkward and unnatural angle. However, she has a beautiful smile which doesn’t betray the pain she must have on a daily basis.

The third woman was at a party we attended last week. While she was away from the table, her husband alluded to “the painful events of the past year,” and when I commented on that, he explained that an accident had occurred just last summer.  While she was volunteering at a camp by loading logs, one at a time, into some sort of machine to be cut up for firewood, she put the last log of the last day of the season into this machine, and it cut off all four of her fingers on her dominant hand. He then added that she had been a quilter. I almost cried but kept my composure because no one likes to know the conversation was about them while they were gone.

Finally, this morning on the news I saw a young woman whose hand had been crushed and then amputated after a car wreck. The most amazing thing is that doctors have replaced her hand with a donor hand, which she is now using successfully.

Perhaps what I’m learning from these thoughts is to be thankful for my hands. Even though they aren’t pretty anymore and I can’t get a ring over my right hand ring-finger knuckle, they are still indispensable in my daily life.

Psalm 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD.