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The Coffee Shop (a place to chat) Est. 2004
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Hello All [:)] <br /> <br />I received an email with the following item. It is worth sharing with you all. My sister emailed this to me, she got it from a friend who got it from . . . well who knows. [;)] I do believe in giving credit where credit is due but just know know who to give the credit (started to end with "give the credit to" but caught myself. <br />Some of you will appreciate this more than others. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Grandpa's Hands <br /> <br /> <br />Grandpa, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. <br />He didn't move, just sat with his head down staring at his hands. <br />When I sat down beside him he didn't acknowledge my presence <br />and the longer I sat I wondered if he was ok. Finally, not really <br />wanting to disturb him but wanting to check on him at the same time, <br />I asked him if he was ok. <br /> <br />He raised his head and looked at me and smiled. <br />Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking, he said in a clear strong voice. <br /> <br />I didn't mean to disturb you, grandpa, but you were just sitting here <br />staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were ok. <br /> <br />Have you ever looked at your hands, he asked. <br />I mean really looked at your hands? <br /> <br />I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. <br />I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. <br />No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands, <br />as I tried to figure out the point he was making. <br /> <br />Grandpa smiled and related this story: <br /> <br />Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, <br />how they have served you well throughout your years. <br />These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools <br />I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. <br />They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. <br />They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. <br />As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. <br />They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. <br />They dried the tears of my children and caressed the love of my life. <br />They held my rifle and wiped my tears when I went off to war. <br />They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. <br />They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. <br />Decorated with my wedding band, they showed the world that <br />I was married and loved someone special. <br />They wrote the letters home and trembled and shook when <br />I buried my parents and spouse and walked my daughter down the aisle. <br />Yet, they were strong and sure when I dug my buddy out of a foxhole <br />and lifted a plow off of my best friends foot. <br />They have held children, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger <br />when I didn't understand. <br />They have covered my face, combed my hair, and <br />washed and cleansed the rest of my body. <br />They have been sticky, wet, bent, broken, dried, and raw. <br />To this day when not much of anything else of me works real well, <br />these hands hold me up, lay me down, and continue to fold in prayer. <br />These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of my life. <br /> <br />But more importantly it will be these hands that God <br />will reach out and take when He leads me home. <br />And with my hands He will lift me to His side and <br />there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ! <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Well hopefully I will come back and post again a little later. The sun is going down and all the ladies at work told me to expect the trick or treaters tonight so I don't want to miss any of the little folks. [;)] <br /> <br />Be nice and take care. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />
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