What’s in your hands?

If I were to ask you to think of an object, what might you come up with? Something you can see in front of you? An item in your bag? A treasured trinket in your bedroom or your favourite childhood toy? 

This was the question I asked a class of nine-year-olds recently as I led them in a creative story writing workshop. It came after I’d asked them to think of a name, and then a place. After the name ‘Jessie’ was offered and a bakery suggested as the location, the child I asked to choose an object went blank. Her classmates started to whisper suggestions: a dinosaur, a bike, a hair clip…but she froze. I encouraged her to think of something that she could hold in her hands – something special to her. Still, she said nothing. 

As her friends prompted her with more suggestions, I asked them to wait patiently, reassuring them that she was thinking and would come up with her own idea. They waited for what felt like an age, but there was still no answer. I was impressed that the remaining pupils waited quietly as she deliberated over something that might be important to her. “Something in your bedroom, perhaps,” I prompted. “A favourite teddy maybe?” Still nothing. 

It was getting beyond awkward now and I could sense the desperation in her eyes as she looked at me for help. I reassured her with an encouraging smile but deep down I wondered: “Does she have anything at home that she holds dear? Does she have a cuddly toy, or even a bedroom?” I offered one last suggestion: “What do you have in your hand right now?” I could see she was nervously fiddling with something and, as she looked down at the object she was holding, she said brightly: “A pen!” Her peers let out a unanimous sigh of relief that we could move on with the exercise.

God isn’t asking for perfection. He’s asking for willingness

I’ve sometimes felt like that little girl – that I’ve had nothing to give to God, whether that be because of emotional, mental or spiritual exhaustion, lack of self-worth or the belief that what I have to offer isn’t good enough. But I’ve learned I can always give what I have in my hands. 

What’s in your hands? It could be the objects you hold, the money you handle, the people you are responsible for or the situations you are in. It might feel insignificant, but what’s at your fingertips? Your phone to reconnect with someone? Surplus food to plate up for a neighbour? Time to collect a prescription for a friend? These can be enough to bless others. 

So often, we underestimate the value of what’s right in front of us. But just like that little girl with her pen, sometimes the smallest, simplest things – what we already hold – are exactly what is needed. God isn’t asking for perfection or abundance. He’s asking for willingness. So, take another look at what’s in your hands. However ordinary it may seem, it could be the very thing God wants to use to bring hope, help and healing – both to others and to you.