Holding Hands

Holding another person's hand in yours. A simple gesture. Yet within it there holds the transformative power of love. A tangible display of affection. Perhaps it's the first time in a relationship where the boy gently interlaces his fingers with the girl's. In one move, he can express to her that he cares. It could be that of two children running hand in hand across the yard of the school as they chatter about their imaginative world existing solely to them. They hold on with their little pudgy fingers because their mind grasps the innocence of a first best friend. What if it's the expression of unending love, captured in one final fleeting moment as one spouse squeezes three times to affirm the other spouse it's ok to go- to leave and move on into eternity without them. An emotional affirmation through the physical sense of touch. A simple, treasured, and beautiful expression.

This past Sunday, I witnessed the power of this gesture in it's purest form. They say children are the greatest teachers... and with my job comes the delightful gift of sitting front row to this very kernel of truth.

It was our typical Sunday. Pastor DJ and I were standing on stage, hands in motion to the words playing pulsing through the sound system. I had noticed prior to the beginning of the service a particular family had returned this week. A family I have come to admire and love in just 2 short meetings. This family has three beautiful daughters. The two youngest daughters are twins in the 2nd grade with severe special needs. From my place on the stage, I found the family sitting in the back row. My eyes couldn't be torn away from them. The mother and the oldest daughter had taken the hands of the two girls and copied every motion we were doing. Tears began to form, and yet, my gaze held firm. God was shining brightly in, on and through this sweet family. I could see his joy as these girls were given the pleasure of participating with the other students. Their bodies may have been tense and stiff to the movements because of their disabilities, but their souls were freely dancing and soaring. It was dazzling and mesmorizing.

As worship came to a close, the classes separated by grades to return to their rooms for the story time. I joined this family in the 1st and 2nd grade classroom. Their wheelchairs were positioned in the back row and I stood behind the girls with their mother. As we were listening to the message, once again, the mother and her oldest daughter acted as the hands for these two girls giving them the opportunity to participate. Their bibles were open, lying on their laps. It was then that I saw it. The glimpse of pure, unconditional love in it's rarest form. Another second grade girl (not related) was sitting in a chair beside one of the twins. While sitting there, she reached out her tiny hand and picked up the hand of the twin next to her. She rested their interlaced hands in the girls lap. I quickly looked over to the mom to see if she saw the beautiful scene playing out in front of me.... the mother found my eyes, nodded and said, "isn't it beautiful? they go to school together and they're best friends". Best friends? One could not be more physically or mentally different than the other, yet, you saw that their hearts and souls could not be more similar. Somehow, this sweet little girl understood the meaning of unconditional love. She grabbed and held on to her friends hand. No differences. No questions. No weird glances. No confusion. Simply the same heartbeat. The twin couldn't exactly hold on back, but there seemed to be some sort of mutual understanding between the two... this is just how it is. Their friendship. Simply consistent of one mighty, rare thing: love.

My mind and heart was instantly blown away and humbled by this littlest of gestures. The limits of the earthly bodies was demolished as love poured forth. I don't know how, but children often times see the unseeable, sense the insensible, imagine the unimaginable, love the unlovable, say the unspeakable, and do the unthinkable. And for this, I'm genuinely grateful. I was taught more about what love is by two second graders. I saw the joy of God bursting forth from His creation regardless of the physical or mental limits in each one of us. He has such tender love for each individual person-we are His beloved creation. It doesn't matter what we look like, what color our skin is, what style of fashion we wear, who we spend time with, or what we do with our one life. His love is unconditional... a love with NO condition. An unfathomable love that changed the world. Forever. I want to be a beacon of this love just like my sweet little friend in the 2nd grade. Because there is no greater love than this... to lay down one's life for one's friend (John 15:13).

"[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres" (1 Cor. 13:7).
"If you want to know how valuable your life is to God, just look at the cross. With his arms outstretched, nailed to the cross, Jesus was saying, "This is how valuable you are to me. I love you this much! I'd rather die than live without you". YOU... ARE... PRICELESS!!" (Rick Warren)

I pray you see your worth. I pray you see the worth of those around you. And I pray in whatever expression it comes, whether it's as simple as hand holding, that you act... because your action speaks protection, trust, hope and perseverance. A rare, and mighty thing that based on history holds within it the power to change the world.