Recently an old post from 2016 was stirred in my memory. So many things have changed since that time, but the word the Lord brought to me then has even more meaning today. I would love to share those thoughts …
There it was again, that old familiar wake-up call: a wave of nausea followed by a jolt of pain and then the rush of anxiety. This journey through RA/Fibromyalgia has left me well acquainted with the Night Watches of Anxiety. But this time, a word followed closely on the heels of the normal rush: HANDS, and it came so insistently that I felt there must be something my Lord wanted to uncover inside of my thoughts.
And then it all came back in a flood: this is the week for my husband’s hand surgeries. After all these months of the RA attacking MY hands, and the pain and swelling, and even the residual tendon damage left after my meds have begun to bring me relief, now we must face the surgeries to repair carpal tunnel damage in both of my HUSBAND’S wrists. Simultaneously.
Are you asking me to examine my hands, Lord? Or are you trying to teach me more about YOUR hands?
A few months ago, a dear blogging friend, Trudy Den Hoed, wrote a beautiful blogpost about looking up and trusting that God is holding us. As the pain and anxiety rushed through me, the words of her post and the song she had posted were also running through my mind, bringing great comfort in the middle of the night.Click here to read her post
My mind and body found peace as the Lord brought STILLNESS to the night watch again. But when I woke this morning, the word HANDS was still echoing in my thoughts.
Yes, Lord, I trust you.
You have us
and
You hold us.
But where is the foundation
of my knowing that?
What is the reason
I know your hands
are safe?
I know that my hands
are weak.
Forever
I am left with a
reminder
of what disease
has done to my body.
How can I hold onto
YOUR hands
when my hands
can not hold close
to anything?
And then I knew. This weakness left behind in me, forever keeps my gaze fixed upward. There is only ONE who has the strength, enough to win salvation for me. And this ONE left HIS HOME in Heaven to make HIS HOME in ME.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
My hands may be weak. My husband’s hands may be damaged. But we were never meant to work the healing necessary on our own. Jesus is the only safe one to hold onto us. And Jesus is the only one who holds out God’s Salvation
for me
and for my husband
and for you.
——–
The photo at the beginning of this old post was taken almost 46 years ago! But it was a favorite photo of my father-in-law, and one in which I took a secret pride. My hands were my strength. They were the way that I served and loved. Whether it was gardening, crafting, playing my clarinet, cleaning, or holding my loved ones, I took for granted the strength that was given to me by God.
My RA-damaged hands are very different these days.
I can no longer type on a computer or tablet, and the ways that I serve have become so much smaller. And yet my hands bear the marks of Christ.
How can I say that my hands bear the marks of Christ?
They bear His marks because His hands are what bear mine. On those dark painful mornings when I cannot see how I will make it through the day, He pours His mercy over me. And His hands hold mine with a strength that I have found could only be His.
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.
So I say with conviction, the pride in my hands is gone now. But the pride in my Jesus and His strength has only increased.
He carried my husband through that surgery back in 2016 and several others, and He still carries him currently through the unknown territory of a fatal heart disease.
He has carried me through these years of increasing RA damage and medication failures, and He still carries me now, giving me ways to show the miracle of His love and strength.
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you
How can I hold onto
YOUR hands
when my hands
Cannot hold close
To anything?
You my Lord
Are strong when
My hands are weak
Lifting my arms
To you.
And Your purposes
Remain for Your
Glory
To be shown
Through all eternity.
“The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations”
I may not be able to post here as often as I wish I could, but when the Lord opens a way, I am always so grateful to be able to share and to pray with you my friends.
Dear Lord Jesus,
We come before You with humility and conviction upon our hearts. Forgive us for any secret pride we have tucked down deep inside our hearts. Oh but thank You for Your deep mercy that cleanses us and creates that new heart within: a heart that is willing to be carried by You; a heart that rejoices in the strength of our Savior, a humbled heart that rests in Your strength alone. Will You bless my friends today with Your peace that calms every anxiety, every fear? Thank You for carrying us and keeping us safe in Your purposes. We praise You our Lord,
In Your name we pray, Amen.
I am linking this week with:
BettieGsRAseasons 
Thank you for sharing this again, Bettie. I needed this right now. It’s hard not to want to fix everything going on with my health on my own but having a reminder that not knowing means I need to focus on Jesus during this time is exactly what I needed. Thank you!
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Dear Lisa, I am so blessed that the Lord knew the timing of when to post these words and brought you comfort! Í Know he is carrying you through these days of waiting and unknown also. It is not easy to wait upon Him–I sure understand that! Oh but He gives us such grace. Sending you hugs and prayers across the miles dear friend.
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Thank you. You do always seem to post just when I need it the most.
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❤️❤️❤️hugs!!
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Your kindness and compassion shine His light every day. I’m thankful God has connected us. Blessings. 🙂
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Dear Melissa, I’m so glad that God has connected us also! What a gift to be able to share His compassion and prayers! May the Lord be with you today and bring you His pain relief. Blessings and hugs!
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It is interesting how God shepherd’s us away from the things we find a confidence, a pride in – and shepherds that confidence to Him and away from those things – or into a new way of doing. You have given me food for thought for how I will deal with my character’s hand injury in my story – you write,
“How can I hold ontoYOUR handswhen my handscan not hold closeto anything?”
My dear friend, He shows us how, does He not? Your message and poem go straight to my heart. You, my friend, are an example of dexterity – trusting Him to bridge those gaps for what He calls you to – and your willingness to learn new ways, even find new strengths through Him. Bless you dear Bettie for showing me how to walk faith in the challenge – and to see change as a new way to do things His way.
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Oh such precious thoughts dear Maryleigh. I never thought about the new kinds of dexterity the Lord would bring, from a place of humility and trust in Him. Thank you for sharing and giving me food for thought also! I pray that He will continue to guide you in your beautiful telling of The King of all Kingdoms. Every chapter is always such an encouragement to me. Blessings and love to you dear friend.
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My dear Bettie, through all the miles of journeying through this chronic illness, I trust that you always know you are actually His hands. Your honest, open words of your daily experiences, including the pain and challenges alongside your daily trust and faith in our Lord are expressions of the work of His Hands that you do through your faithfulness to Him. Your life is a reflection of His light.
You are loved.
Lynda
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Dear Lynda, you have brought tears to my eyes today. Thank you for the blessing and encouragement you have brought to me through your dear words. You’ve been such a special friend through so many decades, all the way back to when I was a young girl, loving the way that you played the organ! (Especially at our wedding!) May you feel His blessing upon your life today. ❤️Love & hugs!
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A beautiful post Bettie, one that I can relate to on many levels in our individual journeys through chronic health conditions.
Praying for your husband’s wrist surgeries, his heart disease & you too sweet friend.
Blessings, Jennifer 💝
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Thank you dear Jennifer for your understanding and prayers. I am so grateful that we can share our thoughts and prayers together on this journey. I pray blessings over you this week also my friend! May springtime and warmer weather come soon to you! 🙏💕
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This was so encouraging, Bettie. Thank you for sharing it again. It is such a comfort.
And wow! 9 years ago – surely you have endured so much through the years. Praise God for how He has held you and your family in the palm of His hands.
When Liv is afraid, I often sing a simple song to her- “When I am afraid I will trust in You x 3 Because You’ve got me in the palm of Your hands hands hands.” and I always find it comforting me just as much. Reading your post reminded me of it.
It’s funny because I was trying to find this quote to share with you before you published this and then after you did, I found it. It fits so beautifully:
“A proud and self-reliant man rightly fears to undertake anything, but a humble man becomes all the braver as he realizes his own powerlessness; all the bolder as he sees his own weakness; for all his confidence is in God, who delights to reveal His almighty power in our infirmity and His mercy in our misery.” (attributed to St. Francis de Sales)
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Dear Anna, what a comforting song to sing along with Liv as you encourage each other! And thank you for the encouragement you have shared with me over all these years. God has truly been so faithful.
And I love that quote you shared. It is so amazing that humility under God’s hand brings about a confidence not seen before. Truly God’s ways are so much higher than ours!
Blessings and hugs to you my dear friend. ❤️
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Bettie, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for this beautiful and timely post. It touched me deeply and fed me encouragement. Sometimes I get so weary, depressed and scared with my continual and painful intestinal issues, but like you shared, God makes use of it by keeping me looking to and leaning on Him. Though I wish I could take all your pain and heartache away, but that you share it, helps me know I’m not alone. You help me to keep hanging on and in the dark times, to know other beautiful servants of God like you, model faithful trust in Him, even when it is sometimes so very hard.
Your life and your writing, even of that from some time back, counteract the hissing lies that life only matters when one is constantly and tangibly fruitful. Oftentimes it’s what only God can see, that is the most fruitful and holy.
Thank you for all the years you’ve written and for all the times you’ve hung on when it’s been so hard. And thank you for listening to the Holy Spirit and sharing what He’s given you in the past and even now.
With my love, a sis in Christ,
Melody ~
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Oh Melody you have brought tears to my eyes today. I’m so thankful that God has used my simple writing to bring His comfort and encouragement. Your prayers have meant so much to me too. It is so easy to listen to those hissing lies, isn’t it? This world tells us to look for those physical achievements, and we let that become our influence in our Christian walk too. But you are so right, God looks on the heart for those hidden fruits! You are in my prayers today dear sister. May Jesus cover you with His comfort and strength for this day. Love and hugs! ❤️❤️❤️
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Thank you, Bettie, for reposting. Yes, isn’t it something how words from years ago have even more meaning now? Thank you so much for this encouraging reminder! I need it often… Yes, we are in His Hands, those Hands forever reaching out to us with love! I second what Melody wrote – “Your life and your writing, even of that from some time back, counteract the hissing lies that life only matters when one is constantly and tangibly fruitful. Oftentimes it’s what only God can see, that is the most fruitful and holy.” Love, hugs, and blessings of strength for each day!
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Dear Trudy, thank you for being such an encouragement over so many years! Your writing has been one of those God-gifts for me too. It is such a wonder to me how the Lord wove our paths together for His good purposes, even through so many trials along the way.
I pray that the Lord has been bringing you refreshing and healing over the summer. The smoke from the wildfires was really hard for my daughter’s asthma. So I hope it didn’t affect you too deeply. I’m sending you hugs and blessings dear sister!
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Dear, precious friend, I am in tears as I type this. This post has sat in my inbox for days, and I am only now sitting to read it. Your dear hands! My heart goes out to you so much in your suffering. And yet you are taking time to pray for my family and me. Your heart is so kind and full of the love of God. I pray He will somehow let you see how special you are and how much you are loved and appreciated by me and so many others.
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Oh dear Cheryl, you have brought tears to my eyes tonight with your sweet comment too. Your words are such a sweet encouragement to me on this journey. I am so thankful that the Lord has woven our prayers together over these years. May He bless you and your dear ones tonight. ❤️
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Bettie, your hands are still beautiful! They show the battles you have fought (and continue to fight) and they show the beauty of the Savior’s hands wrapped around yours. I admire your spirit and your willingness to be used of God even when it looks different than you expected or hoped. Somehow, the church has relegated prayer to a last-ditch effort, telling people, “Well, you can still pray . . . ” as though it is some sort of consolation prize. WRONG!!! We battle in prayer! We fight for our loved ones, friends, strangers, our communities and countries, we FIGHT in prayer. You are a battle-tested WARRIOR, dear Bettie, and I am so thankful you fight in prayer on behalf of me and my family, as well as so many others. You are precious and powerful, and I am grateful God brought you into my life!
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Dear Bronda, thank you for your precious and uplifting words here. Truly the prayers He storms in our hearts are so important! I am so grateful that we can pray for each other, and our loved ones. You’ve brought tears to my eyes, especially this: “they show the beauty of the Savior’s hands wrapped around yours.” Only He could bring beauty out of these ashes–oh but He does! Wish such mercy and grace. Blessings & love to you dear sister.
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