Thank God for Hands. . .and fingers. . .

Men's prayer breakfast at Tom's sign shop. 2009
There's Tom on the back wall right side.
I am thankful that my husband wants to have prayer and praying men in his shop.

I would like to say I am so thankful for hands. . .for my hands and for Tom's hands.
Hands are very important to our everyday life.
We can live without them, but life is much more difficult without them.
Our own hands on our own body sooth the hurt places. . .
they wash and clean us up. . .
they dress us. . .
they create dresses, pictures, dinners, decorations. . .
they feed us . . .
they help us drive. . .
they can make beautiful music on instruments. . .
hands are used by many to talk and some can't talk without using them. . .
hands reach out to sooth the hurts of others. . .
a hand shake can seal an agreement or encourage a friend. . .
hands hold on to things they don't want to lose. . .
hands discard things that need to be thrown away.
I've been thinking about all these "hand things" and more since
November 3, 2011. . .little George's 4th birthday.
That was the day Tom cut his hand using the "chop saw" in his shop.
He was just making a small cut quickly but the saw grabbed the wood and pulled his hand into the blade.
Yuck!
He was using the saw the wrong way. . .he'd done it that way before but it was against the rules of usage.
In all these years it had never hurt him. . .but rules are rules for a reason and
someday when you are not expecting it, you find out why.
Now Tom has a new respect for the "rules" and a better appreciation for his hands and fingers.



This was the cut.  He was in the E.R.

Tom uses his hands and fingers constantly. . .
painting signs, drawing pictures, making all kinds of crafts,
building play sets for grand kids,
playing his new beautiful guitar Stan and Becky got him for Father's Day.
He uses his hands to hold those dear to him in love . .
to give someone a pat on the back. . .
to discipline an unruly grandchild or in years past his children. . .
hands are just so needed.
Stan told the doctor in the emergency room, "Dad's got to get those fingers working because
he needs to play his guitar."
And it's true. . .his grand kids, nieces and nephews have him play songs for them every time they
come over to the house (and at family gatherings) so they can dance and praise the Lord together.
It's a really neat thing and they look forward to it.
He does exercise songs for them too. . .and they love it. . .even the older kids.

Tom in the hospital after over 4 hours of surgery to
put his hand all back together so his fingers
would still work after they heal.
Ligaments and tendons. . .bones that were
severed and nerves. 



Tom always does pretty good at recovering.

He is doing good now and stays mostly in a good spirit.

He's so grateful to have his hand and fingers.

We were thinking about the ministry being the hand

and the fingers being the different callings. . .

they are all so very important and hooked together in

such a fashion that if one gets hurt they all fail

to function like they should. . .like they were designed.

Why would anyone cut off one of the gifts God designed to meet the needs of the body?

Every minister of the Lord has some important ingredient to help

us keep our body clean spiritually. . .

to help us grow into mature Christians.

We "need" our "hands" spiritually.

We need to appreciate all they do to keep us doing God's work.

We need to lift them up above our heart so the blood can bring healing to the body.

If we've ever used our hearts and mouths in a way that caused our hand or fingers to be

cut. . .we need to work quickly to get them re-attached. . .

The doctor told Tom to try and keep his hand above his heart so it would

heal better. . .and that way he'd be able to have a better chance of redeeming function to the fingers.

So many lessons the Lord can teach us when we have "ears to hear" and

"eyes to see".

This picture was one week after his surgery. 

It's looking good and no signs of infection.

He may get the pins out after another week

but the healing will take much longer. . .at least two months according to the doctor.

Anyway, I just want to say I've loved holding those hands

all through my lifetime.

One of my favorite memories is of me walking through town

with Tom in the early evening (our style of dating)

and holding hands.

We'd look at the lighted homes giving out their glow of warmth

and dream about having a home of our own someday.

We'd listen to the sounds of laughter and sometimes kids crying or shouting. . .

and we'd hold hands thinking of how we wanted our home to be.

Now, we've been married for 41 years. . .

we still hold hands. . .and we still enjoy it.

One of my favorite things that I love is when Tom reaches over at a

restaurant or in our home and holds my hand as we pray.

I love to see other folks holding hands too.

I plan on holding Tom's hands until the day one of us leave this world.

Anyway. . .this is just my thinking on hands. . .

Thank all of you who have been praying for Tom.

We appreciate your prayers and concern.

Blessings!

One more note - Stan and Sarah were both right there with their dad in the hospital.

Stan was helping make decisions and making sure he got the best doctors.

(We did, our Dr. Cho was excellent!)

Sarah was there showing her concern and stayed way into the night to ride home with me.

(But I then went back because I just wanted to make sure he was okay.)

Chad Hanna, Janet Perry, Don Lawson, Bro. Gary Wright,

Bro. Craig Dacus and Sis. Darlene Stelljes came by to show their love.

Becky and the kids were at home praying for Tom.

Others in the family and church kept calling us on the phone. . . Tom felt very loved.

Janet watched Sarah's kids so Sarah could be there with her dad.

It's great to have people who care.