Open Hands

​My journey to “open hand” living began 15 years ago when I became a mother.  I had a daughter with severe GERD and found the next 3 years of my life filled with weekly appointments to the pediatrician, gastroenterologist, pulmonologist and/or feeding specialist.  Little did I know this season would continue 3 ½ more years when we had a son with similar yet worse feeding issues.  As life continued to unfold, many gifts, like my children and my marriage, became lessons in “open hand” living.  I tend to have clenched fists with my most cherished people.  And, yet, I have learned that the more I clench my fists, the less I actually hold.  When the kids were young, we tried to teach them to share by posturing our hands open, explaining that when your hands are open, you actually have the ability to receive.  Little did I know, once again, that this lesson was just as much for me as it was for them!  As my fingers are pried open, one by one, I am learning the fullness that comes from empty hands.  It’s natural to hold onto the people and things we hold dear.  But, I am learning, and will continue to learn, that the only way to freedom is having open hands.  What areas of your life do you need to practice the posture of open hands?