Hands

I have completed two difficult but different tasks recently in my life.  Both require the importance of a hand. 

The first was a descend and ascent of the Grand Canyon to the bottom (17 miles round trip) in a day.  This task taxed pretty much all my physical strength, hiking for 12 hours with the last half all uphill. The last 3 miles my husband Craig held my hand.  It give me strength, encouragement, guidance, and comfort all from his grip. I don't believe I could have made it without him and his strong, loving hands.

 

 The second task was a short but tricky "walk/crawl" through a narrow passageway in the red rocks of St. George.  This crack in the rocks test more of your mental strength than physical, a moment or two of panic stepped in as I felt I could not move forward or backward.  As I made my way through extremely narrow areas where I barely fit, I used my hands to grab a hold of a spot or handhold in the rock to pull myself along.  Each of these handholds allowed me to move forward a few inches but they gave me the strength, encouragement, and guidance again that I needed.

I have other hands in my life: a "helping" hand outstretched to me from my loving Heavenly Father ever ready to give me all the physical, mentally, encouragement, guidance, and comfort I need.  Hands from my Savior, Jesus Christ, that hung on the cross to accept all my pain, sins, and sorrows.  These hands just ask a few things of me, but one is that I give my hands to others when it is placed before me; to help them when they need a moment of encouragement or strength or comfort or guidance.