I Loved my Mother's Hands!

My family asked me this week what I wanted to do for Mother's Day.  I said to relax, enjoy the beautiful weather, plant some flowers, and to spend quality time with my family.  

I don't need fancy or glamorous gifts.  

I don't need a long list of how to make memories with my kids.  

I don't want to overcomplicate what should be a joyous day.  

I just want to keep it simple.

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This post from last year keeps it all in perspective ...

This week I was walking down the aisle of a local store when my eyes caught view of a woman, maybe in her late 60s, walking hand in hand with a woman in her 90s. They were walking very close to each other, in a very endearing way. 

I just knew they were mother and daughter. They each had a look of devotion in their eyes.

A pang went through my heart. Not only was this sight beautiful, but it also made me miss my mom, terribly.  (My mom has been gone almost 12 years now, from cancer.) Oh, how I’d love to hold her hand as we walked down the aisle of a grocery store. 

I always loved my mom’s hands. 

We’d talk about the ridges in her fingernails, which I am now getting in mine. 

Mom’s hands were always busy in the kitchen cooking for her family or for guests. I think about my hands as I prepare for many dinners in my home. 

Mom worked the garden soil and canned. I’ve followed in her steps. 

She had a love for children, using her hands to prepare weekly Sunday school lessons, year after year. I love my Balcony Girls! 

We both have tied aprons around our waists as we geared up for giving out. 

We both have loved our husbands and families, deeply. 

We both have taken Motherhood very seriously, as God’s highest calling. 

And I see how God has used us both – by using our hands.

As I turned to my daughter, Do you mind if I hold your hand right now?

Sure Mom, she answered back.

So we walked through Fred Meyer, holding hands. 

She didn’t care and I didn’t care.

I came across this beautiful picture of my Mother giving her mother a hug, back in 1978. I could feel through their body language and glowing facial expressions a life of love and devotion. I know that my Mother felt the same way about her mom, as I do for her.

Even though Mom and Grandma are both gone now, I can’t help looking back at their love and zest for life – both contributing to this world by reaching out to others. Their hugs were real. There was no guile or deceit in the way they lived their lives.

Hugs and hand-holding have become real to me. They’re ways of reaching out and touching the one you are with. 

As I find myself walking alongside older friends, who are involved in my life, I realize that they stepped in at the perfect time - to be there for my family and me. If you saw them today, they’d each tell you that I occasionally will grab their hand, and hold it tight! 

I’ve learned to love their hands, almost as much as I loved my own mother’s. (And these special ladies I sent cards to, to tell them how much they mean to me!)

Thank you God, for these women's hands.

And thank you Abby, for letting me hold your hand, just this week.

And for my boys, who never say no, when I reach for their hand! 

Thank you God, for the gift of Motherhood!

Reach out and grab a hand this Mother's Day.  Study the hand and think about the influence it's had on your life!

(Photos: Mom and Grandma Dubs in 1978; Coming home from the hospital with newborn, “Abigail.” I love how this picture shows each of our hands!)

Partial reposting from last year.

What about the April Balcony Girls lesson?  Because of the timeliness of Mother's Day, and the gifts that we made, I couldn't post about it until after Mother's Day.  We just couldn't ruin the surprise!  Stay tuned ...