Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: THE WHOLE WORLD IN GOD’S HANDS (not the song) (05/28/15)
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TITLE: I See That Hand | Previous Challenge Entry
By Pat Small
06/02/15 -
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I watched the waiter weave his way expertly between tables in the crowded restaurant, a huge tray balanced on one hand. For a moment I envisioned the disaster should I attempt such a feat. Diners’ chairs jutted carelessly out in his path, and other waiters hurried past him with pitchers of ice water and sweet tea. Yet he moved on, purpose in his steps.
That got me thinking about hands, and their myriad uses. God designed us with two hands; for holding a newborn baby, securing the hand of a lover, stroking the forehead of a bedridden friend, turning the pages of a Bible, or washing tonight’s dirty dishes.
A doctor’s hands are used to cure. A pastor’s hands are used to comfort a dying saint. A mother’s hands wipe runny noses or ice cream faces. A father’s hands change his daughter’s flat tire. A policeman’s hands may direct traffic, a fireman’s secure heavy hoses, and on and on. You get the picture.
Hands are a gift that we never pause to notice. Unless, of course, as a soldier we lose our hands in battle. Or perhaps a disease steals their usefulness from us.
If our human hands enjoy such an array of uses, how much more the hands of God. The Bible is replete with examples. His hand metes out both blessing and judgment. His hand of love was extended in the person of Jesus. His sovereignty controls the actions his hand may take. Proverbs 21:1 tells us: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord…he turneth it whithersoever he will”. We fret about our government, and ISIS and the economy; yet God’s hand is at the wheel.
We’re warned of ozone, depleted resources, threats of worldwide famine and yet we are told in Colossians 1:16b-17: “all things were created by him, and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist”. Apparently, He is holding it all together. There’s no need for concern.
And to put the icing on the cake, meditate with me on John 10:29: “…and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand”. If I were ever going to get a tattoo, I think that would be an appropriate choice, so that in my moments of despair, sadness, loss or failure, my frail mind would be reminded afresh of God’s loving, sovereign hand.
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I only have one tiny critique, and that's a bit of punctuation that you could probably make a case for: I'd change the semicolon in the second paragraph to a colon.
I've got to give you a virtual high five for using 'myriad' correctly, too.
Other than that, I'd only suggest that you expand the first part, which was very compelling reading. After you've gone through your broad mentions of how hands can be used in peoples' lives, perhaps you could then include a specific example of a time in your life when your hands were particularly important to you. You're a gifted writer, and people would enjoy reading an anecdote like that, and including personal stories makes your writing even more relatable.