My Father's Hands

If I close my eyes and allow myself to return to my childhood for just a moment, I can remember as though it were happening right now, the feeling of comfort and safety that would wash over me when Daddy would reach out and take my little hand in his.  Over the years, whether I was 2, 12, or 20 years old, that feeling of having his hand wrapped around mine was always the same.  In his hand, I felt safe.

 

I believe that’s probably the reason that over the years, holding a man’s hand has always told me something about the man, and meant something deeply personal to me.  There are men out there that will grab your hand and assume you want them to lead you wherever they deem best.  I’ve learned that if you let them, you may very well end up someplace you don’t want to go.  Some men will use your hand to parade you around like a trophy somehow feeding their own sagging self-esteem.  Others will hold onto your hand so much and so tightly that you wonder if they could ever survive if they let go! However, when you find the hand that you slip yours into, and it feels like you’ve finally come home, you’ve found a gift from God.

 

Throughout my adult life and various relationships in my past, I was aware that something always felt wrong to me when I’d hold the hand of my current “love”.  I didn’t think about it a lot, I was just simply aware when it was happening. The first day I met my husband Chuck, I was struck by the fact that his thumbs looked just like my dad’s!  I watched his hands intently as he spoke, as he signed the credit card slip after dinner, and as he drove the car.  But it was later, the first time he reached out to take my hand that I knew this man was someone special.  As I slipped my hand into his, I felt an overwhelming realization wash over me… for the first time in my adult life, I felt the same way I did when I used to put my hand in Daddy’s! 

 

As the years have passed, I have learned that there is a direct correlation between the man I trust with my hand, and the hand that is leading him.  I have made the mistake of trusting the wrong men to join hands and hearts with, and I have endured the gut-wrenching agony of the consequences of those choices.  Because of God bringing me through those experiences into a new life, I can also tell you that there is no more wonderful feeling in the world than to know that your man is strong enough to lead your family simply because he is tuned in enough to humble himself before God and surrender his will and his reason to a power far beyond his own.

 

Today as Father’s Day quickly approaches and I am reminiscing, I am so grateful for the kind of father that taught me with something as seemingly insignificant as taking my hand in his, what love and safety felt like.  I am also grateful for a husband who reminds me again everyday through his tenderness and affection for me, that I am truly loved.  But above all, no matter what life may bring my way, I am eternally grateful for the safety and assurance of knowing that the hand that leads our life and our home is the same one that created everything and holds it all together.

 

Right now in the quiet…if I close my eyes again…I can hear my father’s voice singing…

“Many things about tomorrow

I don’t seem to understand,

But I know Who holds tomorrow

And I know Who holds my hand!”

 

I hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day!

 

Comments

[Vrenda Lee]

Jeannie......how beautifully you write! Thank you for sharing your thoughts (both Mother's Day and Father's Day)......reading them and remembering, myself, our childhood years is truly inspirational to me right now! Love always, vrenda

[Ruth Halbert]

Jeannie
What a beautiful tribute to your Daddy. I am the lucky girl whose hand he took in marriage nearly 54 years ago, and that love and security is as sweet today as ever.
This Mom's heart is full of love and appreciation for you, at this happy time in your life!
Tomorrow is the big day - -Your BOOK RELEASE!
"BEYOND MY YESTERDAYS".
I love you!
Mom

[Martha Gilmer]

Jeannie
As I was blessed to watch you grow from a little girl into the woman you have become today my heart is thrilled. You have walked through the valley of the shadows of disappointment and heartaches and I am reminded that JESUS led you all the way.

I will continue to keep you in my prayers. In times like these, as Reuben Welch titled his wonderful book, "We really do need each other." I love you my little PB girl and the tribute to your father is true and beautiful.
Martha Gilmer