Hand Holding


Last year when my husband, Tom, turned 60 we took a family vacation to Costa Rica to celebrate.  We arrived late at night, so after renting the eleven passenger van and loading up most of the group fell asleep for the trip along the winding road through the mountains while my son-in-law, Matt was the designate driver since he was familiar with those types of conditions. 

The week was filled with fun activities. Ziplining in the rain forest was my favorite activity. Matt chose learning to surf as his challenge for the week. Billy and Tommy enjoyed the deep sea fishing which provided us with dinner one evening. Will was enthralled with the creatures, like the poison dart frogs and the red eyed tree frogs in the rainforest. I think all would agree that something that everyone loved was swimming in the enormous pool with its many bridges, and compartments which provided relaxation for young and old alike. 

On the return trip through the hairpin turns on the mountainous roads, we were all wide awake, so we were able to see all of the sites that we had missed on the trip from the airport to the resort. The road was harrowing at times with switchback after switchback and drop offs on the edge of the road. After going for a short distance my then four year old grandson Will said, “Hold my hand so you won’t be scared.” Don’t you love it, he was scared, so he thought I was probably scared too and he thought if we held hands everything would be all right. Of course I reached for his hand, not because I thought it would make me safe, but because I love holding that soft hand and I wanted him to feel safe and secure.

My hand could do nothing to protect us on our traversing journey on the narrow roads, but there is a hand that can bring us real comfort and has the power to keep us steady when we face harm. It is the hand of God. Sometimes we must reach out to grab hold of His hand while other times He reaches down for ours, but the important thing is that His hand is always in our reach. So, the next time you are frightened or scared or need a little bit of comfort try reaching up for the hand that is waiting or hold on tight to the hand that has grabbed onto yours.

Isaiah 41:13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

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