Holding Hands

One of my favorite things to do with my kids is hold hands. Usually it is when we are crossing the parking lot. I give my kids the choice either to hold my hand and walk or I have to carry them. More often than not their choice is to hold my hand. Sometimes I even catch my son and daughter holding hands even when I have not asked them to, nothing warms my heart more. I always ask my daughter if I can hold her hand as I walk her into school in the morning. She willingly says yes and we take that time to pray together. I look forward to those moments every morning.

I not only enjoy holding my kids' hands but I enjoy watching them hold their little friends' hands. There is just something so sweet about it. Humor me for a moment...The other day my daughter had her first soccer game. It was not only her first game but her induction into the competitive sports world. She went out on the field to practice kicking her ball. I watched her for a few minutes and talked with some of the other parents. All of a sudden I could not find her on the field. I panicked a bit as I looked around. I turned behind me and my daughter was kicking her ball with another team at another field. I called to her to come back and explained where our field began and ended and told her to stay in that spot. She smiled and said "okay mom." She had not a clue what soccer was about but she loved every minute. The coach, who is the best soccer coach a child or parent could ask for, gathered all the kids (boys and girls) together in the center of the field to pray and to give them a pep talk. As I watched, my daughter grabbed the hand of the little boy next to her. Ryan is a sweet boy who is a year older than she is. When I told my daughter about her first soccer game and how much fun it would be she would respond over and over, "and Ryan is going to be there."

After the coach finished praying, my daughter and Ryan were still holding hands walking around. I called to my daughter that they needed to concentrate on the game. They both just laughed and smiled at me like I was speaking a foreign language. The coach caught on and put Ryan in the goal box. My daughter was going to go with him until I told her that there could only be one goalie. She was clearly disappointed. The whole reason she was excited to be on the field was Ryan. She ended up being fine. She even scored a goal in her first game! She cheered when she was on the sidelines, especially for Ryan!

Holding hands is truly one of the sweetest things in the world. I can hold my husband's hand, I can hold a friend's hand, I can hold my kids' hands. We hold hands to be close, we hold hands to lead, we hold hands as reassurance that we are close by. One of the most awesome things about our God is that he enjoys holding hands as well. Psalm 73:23-24 says, "Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny." Asaph, the writer, spoke about his foolish perspective as a preface to this verse. He proclaims that regardless of what is going on around us, regardless of who is seemingly prospering, "You hold MY right hand." God wants to hold our hands. He desires that intimacy. He wants to lead us willingly through the parking lots of our lives into wide open spaces (no boundary lines like soccer!) He wants us to enjoy friendship with him. Holding his hand is an act of surrender. He has the clearer perspective, He has a path through the wilderness and He has love that He longs to lavish onto us. Like my daughter looked forward to Ryan at the soccer game, I want that same anticipation for God in each moment of my daily walk, "God is going to be there!" Reach out today and grab His capable hand. The best part too is that we don't have to let go of His hand and no sweaty palms here!