Good new year, everyone.
As I considered this month’s writing prompt, I was reminded of a book I read last year, A Curious Faith by Lore Ferguson Wilbert. An entire chapter is devoted to the question, “What is in your hand?” Lore offers a different and thought-provoking perspective: “When God asks what is in Moses’s hand, the staff in his hand is there because so many things have gone wrong in Moses’s life.” Lore suggests that when God asks you what’s in your hand, he is asking, “What did you not expect to carry into this ‘wild and precious life’?”
A close friend shared this with me: “I don’t always like what is in my hand, and often look at what is in someone else’s hand and wonder why I didn’t get that. But I know God gave me what is in my hand and know he must have a purpose and use for it. I believe that God has given you the issues you are dealing with now, because he knew you could handle the job. And that you would handle the job with Christian love and grace and would be a witness to those around you. One day God will say to you ‘thanks for taking care of that, I knew you were the right person for the job’.
What is ‘in my hand’ is a story I never wanted and never sought out. It is a story involving prodigal children and a challenging caregiving journey. The stage of life I am in looks nothing like what I expected or hoped for. But God has shown me my faith is built on the solid rock of Christ. I may be tested and tried, my “trunk” may be bent against hurricane-force winds, but I will stand in him. He is faithful, he is good, he is kind, he is the one true Promise-keeper.
I trust that God will use what’s in my hand to bless others, whether that is in my writing or in conversations and offering support. As Lore says, “he uses our grief to make space for another’s grief. When our grief is palpable and present, mourners find their way alongside it sooner or later.”
Moses used his sheep-herding staff to astound a pharaoh, split the Red Sea, bring water from rock, and help the Israelites win a battle against enemy forces. God didn’t waste Moses’s flock-tending years; he redeems the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). Since he doesn’t waste anything and turns for good what the enemy means for evil (Genesis 50;20), I can hardly wait to see what he does with what’s in my hand! May it be soon, Lord Jesus!
A close friend shared this with me: “I don’t always like what is in my hand, and often look at what is in someone else’s hand and wonder why I didn’t get that. But I know God gave me what is in my hand and know he must have a purpose and use for it. I believe that God has given you the issues you are dealing with now, because he knew you could handle the job. And that you would handle the job with Christian love and grace and would be a witness to those around you. One day God will say to you ‘thanks for taking care of that, I knew you were the right person for the job’.
What is ‘in my hand’ is a story I never wanted and never sought out. It is a story involving prodigal children and a challenging caregiving journey. The stage of life I am in looks nothing like what I expected or hoped for. But God has shown me my faith is built on the solid rock of Christ. I may be tested and tried, my “trunk” may be bent against hurricane-force winds, but I will stand in him. He is faithful, he is good, he is kind, he is the one true Promise-keeper.
I trust that God will use what’s in my hand to bless others, whether that is in my writing or in conversations and offering support. As Lore says, “he uses our grief to make space for another’s grief. When our grief is palpable and present, mourners find their way alongside it sooner or later.”
Moses used his sheep-herding staff to astound a pharaoh, split the Red Sea, bring water from rock, and help the Israelites win a battle against enemy forces. God didn’t waste Moses’s flock-tending years; he redeems the years the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). Since he doesn’t waste anything and turns for good what the enemy means for evil (Genesis 50;20), I can hardly wait to see what he does with what’s in my hand! May it be soon, Lord Jesus!
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c. Susan Barclay, 2025. For more about Susan and her writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com