Gratitude #9: These Two Hands

These two hands
I learned to eat with them.
Just like my baby,
who insists on feeding himself
one piece of corn, one cheerio
at a time.

These two hands
I learned to provide with them
With these two hands I hold a book, I type my words, I share my thoughts
With these two hands I held the things I needed to learn
to gain the education
for to earn my bread
and, when necessary,
bread for my family.

These two hands,
I learned to hold with them
First, when mom and dad held me
and then when I learned to hug them back
and then when I learned to hold a kitten, or a baby
and then, when I learned to hold my husband's hand (back when he was just my boyfriend)
and we two, together, learned to hold our little man.

These two hands,
between them I piece fabric to make quilts
sauté vegetables for our dinner
open letters that wander to our mailbox
comb hair, braid hair
button buttons, tie shoes
strum strings, play keys.

Today I thank God for His gift to me
of his pierced hands, his perfect, healing, loving, atoning hands
His, that made this world and made me
and made these two hands, my own
for me.