The Touch of The Master's Hand

Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

thought it scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin,

but held it up with a smile; "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

"Who'll start the bidding for me?" "A dollar, a dollar"; then two!" "Only

two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once; three

dollars twice; going for three.." But no, from the room, far back, a

gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow; Then, wiping the dust

from the old violin, and tightening the loose strings, he played a melody

pure and sweet as caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low,

said; "What am I bid for the old violin?" And he held it up with the bow.

A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! And who'll make

it three? Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice, and going and

gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not

quite understnad what changed its worth." Swift came the reply: 

"The touch 

of a master's hand."

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This is first part of a poem in a children's book that I have and love.  (The Touch of The Master's Hand, by Myra Brooks Welch)  When I read this, the picture that comes to my mind is that of all of us...sinners.  We were being auctioned off, each one of us with a different price, but equally cheap.  For some, the price is pride.  Some is anger.  Some is addiction.  Some is bitterness.  The list could go on, but the price was cheap enough to be paid.

Right when the world and Satan was getting ready to say "Going once, twice, Gone", a master stepped up.  Not just any master, The Master.  I like to think that He looked at all of my scratches and brokenness.  He noticed every single flaw.  That Master lovingly picked me up, saw the cheap price tag and just smiled.  Smiled because right there in His hand, underneath my cheap price tag was His receipt:  in the form of a scar.  That receipt was from a long time ago, before I was ever up for sale.  He paid a price that the world could never come close to.  The world may wonder what changed my worth and the answer is as simple as the one in the story... 

The touch of a master's hand.

Look Ahead

One of the verses I've come to love is Isaiah 43:18-19.  It says, "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.  Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth;  shall ye not know it?  I will even make a way through the wilderness, and rivers in the desert."

I don't necessarily like change. No matter how big or small, it takes me time to adjust. I seem to always find myself looking back at how things used to be or what I think they should be.  However that's not God's plan for us to live in the past or to keep looking and longing for former things. 

This verse reminds us that even when we feel like our dreams are all but gone, He is doing a new thing in our lives.  Those old dreams aren't necessarily gone...He has set within us new dreams.  And when those new plans seem so far out of reach, He reminds us that HE will make a way.  Through the wilderness when we can't see through all the brush, He has set a path.  Through the desert when we feel so alone and hopeless, He has made rivers to refresh our soul.

Lord, give me strength to handle changes, knowing that you have already gone before me and made a way.  Help me keep my eyes fixed forward on you so that I can begin to see Your new plans for my life. 

"Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior"

Eagerness is something I see in first grade on a daily basis. Eagerness to learn, eagerness to play, eagerness to have fun, eagerness to do things right.  But probably the type of eagerness I most see is eagerness to please and eagerness to help. It doesn't matter what the task, but when I start a sentence with, "I need someone to...", I can count on 20 little hands to shoot up. 20 little smiles as if to say, "Choose me! Choose me!"  They don't know what the end of that sentence is going to be. It could be something that is not fun like pick up trash around the room or push in chairs or straighten up the computer center.  But I've learned that the end of that sentence doesn't matter...they just want chosen for the job.

I heard the song "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior" the other day and it made me think about that simple eagerness. Part of the chorus says, "while on others thou art calling, do not pass me by".  How many times The Lord calls on me and you to do things and how many times we find excuses not to.  Maybe it's not the right timing for us, or I'm too shy, or I don't have the resources or means.  What would it look like if we were like my little first graders.  Not even waiting to hear the whole request, just opening our hearts and saying "choose me, Lord, I can do it".  I have been taught to have a servant's heart, and I want to be willing and eager to please Him. Eager to be chosen.


"Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by.

Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry;
while on others thou art calling,
do not pass me by."
by Fanny Crosby

We’ll Never Know

"You'll never know." I whispered this to Joey Kate and kissed her as we were walking through WalMart and she was being cute and funny. I probably say this to her a dozen times a day. "You'll never know." And she won't.

She'll never know how much she was wanted. She'll never know how much she was prayed for. She'll never know all the shots, medicine, dr. appointments I had so that she would have the hope of a healthy life. She'll never know how it took every ounce of strength I had to have her. She'll never know how much she's loved.

       I thought about how God must whisper this to us a dozen times a day as well. We'll never know.

We'll never know how much we are wanted. We'll never know how much we are interceded for. We'll never know all the beatings, wounds, and scars He had so that we would have the hope of eternal life. We'll never know how it took every ounce of His earthly strength to die on the cross for us. We'll never know how much we are loved.

I am overwhelmed. I am humbled. I am blessed...all because I will never know.

"We love him, because He first loved us."

John 4:19  (KJV)

He’s Been Faithful

As 2014 wraps up and I think about this past year, my mind replays ups and downs that I stumbled through.  In March, I got news from my Dr. that wasn’t the greatest.  Granted, it could’ve been a lot worse, but could’ve been better, too.  I cried for what seemed so impossible at the time.  I remember sitting on the couch and John wiping away my tears, telling me to trust the Lord’s plan and timing for it all.

When I think of that now, I have to smile.  I have to smile because here it is, not even a whole year later, and I see the Lord’s faithfulness sleeping in my arms.  Not even a whole year later, and I see the Lord’s plan clearer than I ever have.  Not even a whole year later, and I see how His ways are so much higher than my own. 

So, as far as 2014 goes, I will forever cherish it as a reminder of His faithfulness.  Hopefully, as you look back on this past year, you, too, can see His fingerprints amidst all of your own ups and downs.  He’s been faithful in 2014, and I know He’ll be faithful in 2015, as well! 

Happy 2015, Friends!

“But the Lord is faithful…”

2 Thessalonians 3:3  KJV