Hands the Size of Buttons

I have held nine tiny hands in my life, hands I have helped create.  Three children, six grandchildren.

The hands all started out about the size of large buttons, warm to the touch.  I have loved each and every one of them.  I still do.

It is a remarkable act to bring new life into the world, and it entails incredible responsibility.  Yet, it is the most natural and human thing to do.  Children are God’s perfect reminder of life’s joy.  Not just happiness, as important as happiness is, but joy itself.

And that joy never really ends.  From infancy to childhood to adolescence to when they themselves become mothers and fathers, they are walking, breathing reminders of joy.

I am so grateful to have had the privilege of holding tiny hands – hands the size of buttons – and I hope I never lose that sense of joy such simple things bring.