That’s Graham. Isn’t
he a cutie? Three weeks ago I visited
the local animal shelter and found Graham, a 5 month old kitten. I brought him home and soon got used to being
greeted by him every morning and every afternoon, being tripped by him as
he excitedly led me to his food and stopped under my feet just to make sure I was
coming, playing with him and his toy mice, and watching movies and grading
papers with him cuddled up on my lap.
But, sadly, I had to give him back to the animal shelter yesterday
because my allergies reacted much stronger to Graham than they had to my
childhood cat, Tigger.
I’m not going to lie.
I feel brokenhearted. It’s
amazing how attached you can get to something in a period of three weeks. And as I got ready for church this morning, I
couldn’t help but feel like my apartment was empty.
I wish I could have kept Graham. But, to state the quote that no one who is
hurting likes to hear, “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have
loved at all.” It’s true. I’m glad I had three weeks to love this
little kitten, and I pray that he would be placed in an even better home than
mine.
And I will say that God used Graham, even in this short
time, to teach me some very good lessons.
I’d like to highlight just one here.
When Graham would sit on my lap, he just wanted to be in
contact with one of my hands. He would move
around, looking for my hands if they weren’t petting him. And if I put my hand down, he would squish
his little face into my hand and fall asleep.
It was absolutely adorable. J I don’t know why he was so obsessed with
hands. Maybe all little kittens
are. They get their backs rubbed by
hands, and food comes from hands, and….even medicine sometimes comes from
hands. I think that Graham felt
comforted by hands. Which, also explains
why, while he was in the crate on the way to the shelter, he used his paw to
hold onto one of my fingers in the midst of pathetic mewing.
As we both cried in the car, (okay…maybe I teared and Graham
just meowed) I realized how often life can seem like I’m Graham in his crate. Journeys are rough. When I am taken into different places, scared
by loud noises, and forced to interact with new people it can be intimidating. And yet, if I trust my Owner – I know that He
does the hard stuff (gives me medicine and moves me) because He loves me and
knows what’s best.
Graham was comforted by my hands at home…in a place that was
familiar…and in the journey, he could still find comfort in my hands/fingers,
because he trusted them.
What a lesson Graham taught me!
With Christ, my Lord, I don’t just lean on His everlasting
arms…I can hold onto His powerful hands.
I looked up Bible verses that referred to the hands of the
Lord, and there were many. There are
verses that talk about how big & powerful his hands are (Job 12:10, Psalm
95:4, Psalm 98:1, Psalm 118:14-16).
There are verses that refer to the security we can have by trusting in
his hand/strength (Psalm 16:8, Psalm 37:23-24, Psalm 63:8, Psalm 111:7, Isaiah
51:16). There are even verses (many of
them) that show God’s hand as a pressure to remind us of our sin and guilt,
like in Psalm 32:4. But I wanted to
highlight the few that have always stood out to me – and now, especially so:
1.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you and help you; I will
uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
2.
“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and
says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)
3.
“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant
for the people and a light for the Gentiles…”
Isaiah 42:6 (NIV)
Phew! Such great
reminders! God holds our hand! He grabs a hold of it. He keeps us.
He helps us. And, how much
comfort when we recognize it:
4.
“Yet, I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.” Psalm 73:23 (NIV)
5.
“You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such
knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if
I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the
sea, even there your hand will guide
me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Psalm 139:5-10 (NIV)
As Matt Redman so musically reminds us, God never lets go. Thankfully, it doesn’t depend on our
strength. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t
reach out.
6.
“…I
press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to
have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:
Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in
Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV)
I want to walk through life holding Jesus’ hand. I want to seek after it, just as Graham
sought after my hands. I want to rest in
God’s hand, no matter what the journey is – through joy or heartache.
I had to let Graham go, but Jesus will never let us go. His hand is always there.
But often, it is when we spend time with the LORD in His
Word that we truly recognize His hands.
The Bible contains the story of Ezra, “a teacher well versed
in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given” (Ezra
7:6). Whenever I read the section on
Ezra, I see some variant of this phrase over and over: “the
gracious hand of the LORD my God was on me”. I’ve counted 6 times in Ezra (7:6, 7:9, 7:28,
8:18, 8:22, 8:31).
Ezra was a man who recognized God’s hand. As Christians, we are led, guided and
protected by Christ’s hand. Psalm 95:7 (ESV)
states: “For he is our God, and we are
the people of his pasture, and the
sheep of His hand.” Is that my identity?
The gospel writer John described himself as “the disciple
whom Jesus loved”. I want to take it one
step further – to not just be amazed that I am the “girl who Jesus loves”, but
also the “girl who holds Jesus’ hand”. (and
maybe I should say, “the girl whose hand Jesus holds”. J)
I thank God for my time with little Graham. He is precious.
