Little Hands

I have six little hands that live at my house.

Very busy little hands that do all sorts of things. These hands leave fingerprints, smudges, and smears on every single glass, stainless steel, or otherwise shiny surface in our home. Every. Single. One. These hands have more energy than I could even dream of having. And without coffee even! These hands can take out toys to play with at the speed of light, but are usually too tired to put them away. These hands throw snowballs at their mama every chance they get. I have seen these hands push, hit, slap, and knock each other down. I have seen them shove toys under dressers, beds, and other places they don't belong. And, I have seen them holding things that don't belong to them, filthy after they've supposedly been washed, and up inside of little noses. Just being honest.

However, these are the same little hands that I have seen pick up their siblings when they have fallen down. The same hands that have stroked my cheek when I nursed them, cupped my face when I kissed them, and patted me tenderly on the back when I hugged them. Hands that like to hold themselves up to mine and my husband's to see if they are as big as ours yet. Hands that have worked together for many hours making up choreographed dances, plays or musicals with props, and lightsaber battles. Hands that have taught each other how to snap, put band-aids on each other's ouchies, and given each other high fives. Hands that have helped set the table, feed the dog, and taken every cent out of their piggy bank to give to charity. (Their idea.) And, I have seen them folded in prayer.

My favorite thing about these hands, though, is not what they have done in the past, but what they will do in the future. I pray that these hands will grow up to help others. That they will feed the hungry, reach out to comfort the hurting, and be laid on people in prayer for healing. I hope they will construct things, create things, and repair things. I hope they will work hard, but play hard too. I hope they will clap, wave, cook, prune, lift, hammer, drive, paint, and hold. All for the glory of our Lord. God has great plans for these little hands, and I can't wait to see what they are.