Her Hands

I'm not one of those weepy people.  I didn't cry when I went away to camp or anything.  My Mom tells a story of how my first day of pre-school all the other kids were clinging to their parents and crying.  I waved and ran to the toy box, “See you later.”  I deal with things as they are and make the best of what I have.  So, walking into church yesterday surprised me.  

Due to Mother’s Day, there was a bit of waiting to drop the kids off in their classes.  I arrived in the auditorium just after the music started.  Everyone was already standing and singing.  There was a beautiful lady sitting in front of the row I rushed to settle into.  You could tell her feeble frame would not have been able to stand through the whole song.

Just as I walked up she rested her hand on the armrest.  It was one of those hands that you knew had worked hard its whole life.  A little swollen from arthritis with thin skin showing blue veins, it matched the one clinging to the woman next to her.  They were talking incessantly in a loud almost whisper.  Her hearing was obviously not what it used to be, but her laughter was still clear and bright.

The sight of that sweet, old hand caught me off guard.  It was one of those moments in the movies were the camera zooms down on one thing, everything else disappears, and the narrator starts talking.  I inhaled sharply; tears stung my eyes and instantly rolled down my cheeks.  I spent the song weeping quietly in my seat hoping no one noticed.  How I missed my own Granny and Mother today!  I would love to have Granny’s sweet hands to pat my face and hug my neck.

I tried to get it under control by looking away from those hands and focusing on the lyrics displayed on the screen.  “You are not alone.  You are not alone.”  Well, that just made me sob all the harder.  My God already knew I would be missing wrapping my arms around the neck of my Granny today.  He 

knew I’d be missing my Momma.  Whatever the rest of the song, the message I heard the Narrator say was "I love you, Honey, and I have perfect timing.  I am with you always even to the end of the age."

I am 700 miles away, but I am not alone.