Handling our lives

It's always going on -- all at the same time.  Lent and Spring.  Dying and living.  Past, Present and Future.  

The way we "handle" the variability and contrasts of our daily experiences often reflects the way we have been "handled" by others.  I'm sure we all have heard -- if you have generally been loved, you are likely to become a loving person.  If you have been subjected to violence, you may be prone to violence.  If you have lived among grateful, joyful people, you are likely to be infected with gratitude and joy!  

At pivotal times in our lives, the images of hands often are used to express what is going on:  

The adult is cupping the infant's hand, most likely standing in loving awe of the miracle of new life.  

The bride and groom join hands, a mystical moment to many, that points to a shared life of (hopefully) joy and promise.  Our hands are the instruments and the tools that reflect what we value.  They participate directly in what we see as the purpose of the moment "at hand".  

Hands leave imprints of so many kinds upon our memories, our possessions, our hearts and our minds.  I have even heard some people in the church refer to an event as one carrying the "fingerprints of the Holy Spirit" all over it.  

Here is one of the last pictures taken of my Uncle George and Aunt Joan as a couple.  The face and body are not that revealing -- the hands, though, testify to the way they handled life together.   

On the deathbed the intimacy and devotion endured -- open hands enfolding one another.  It is an expression of peace and lasting connection.  Joan's hands still may have years of work to do.  They will always, always bear the imprint of her hand upon Georges, with George's hand upon hers.