Hand! Hand!!

My little grandson is all boy.

He loves everything that goes vroom, from a passing street sweeper to an “unk.” He especially loves “unks.” He’ll stop whatever he is doing when one drives by. An “unk,” for those of you unfamiliar with his language, is a truck.

The bigger and louder the better.

And he loves outdoors.

When you take him outside, it’s like he has been set free. His face brightens up and he will stand on the walkway, just outside our front door, look around and shout… about nothing in particular.

Then, if he happens to hear a plane overhead or see a “caw,” which is his word for a bird, he wants to make sure you see what he’s seeing and join in with his obvious excitement.

Another thing he does, when he gets outside, is to throw both hands behind him and just start running, head down… in no specific direction, but at top speed. And if you are in charge of his welfare when he starts to run, you had better be in first gear because he is “Usain Bolt” fast.

You cannot afford to allow any distance between you and him because his movements are totally unpredictable.

You have to be close.

And you have to be attentive.

Both of which, perfectly and thankfully, describe God’s relationship with us.

But there is something else he has just started doing that prompted this blog.

Whenever we are outside and he finds himself…

• …on uncertain terrain
• …or in an unfamiliar environment
• …or surrounded by people he doesn’t recognize, he will throw up his hand to you and say, “Hand! Hand!”

First of all, that gesture in itself makes me feel like a million bucks…that he would trust me to take care of him when he feels vulnerable.

I wonder if that is how our heavenly Father feels when we reach out for His reassuring hand?

Then, with my grandson’s precious little hand firmly in my hand, he is perfectly content to navigate whatever circumstance he is in and whatever uncertainty lies ahead of him.

It reminds me of an old Gospel song we used to sing…

Hold to His hand

God’s unchanging hand

Put your hope in things eternal

Hold to God’s unchanging hand!