Special Father’s Day Message: Hand Hugs

I loved my grandfather’s rough, calloused hands. He had big hands that did everything from working on automobiles, fixing radios and televisions; painting the house’s interior and exterior, and gardening the yard.

He kept a bottle of Corn Huskers lotion in the garage, his work room, the bathroom and at his radio-TV repair shop. My granddad had this thing about keeping his hands soft though they’d never soften up.

Still, as rough as those hands were, they were so gentle. I loved holding Charlie’s hand. I loved it when his huge hand would engulf mine even into my adulthood. Instantly, with that one act of affection, I’d forget the calluses and hug his hand back with mine.

“Hand hugs” is what I call the instantaneous connection between a man and woman, parent and child and any two individuals demonstrating affection with their hands clasped. Sometimes a hand hug can be just as potent as a full-body hug or an embrace. A hand hug can be as potent as a kiss.

My grandfather, Charlie, has been gone for years, but I miss his hands and there are times when I crave one of those hands holding mine firmly and gently. A woman (or man) never outgrows the need for a hand hug. And on my grandfather’s deathbed, when he was in a coma, I hugged his hand tightly and was delighted, almost hopeful, when he lightly squeezed my hand back.

At least, that’s what I imagined he did…

On one of my rare sleepless nights, when something weighed heavily on my mind, I watched television and a gospel music advertisement came. Nothing moved me about the commercial until I saw a pious looking Mahalia Jackson looking up to the heavens singing, “Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, help me stand…” That’s exactly what I needed. I needed a hand hug from the Lord. I needed God to gently squeeze my hand and reassure me that everything would be alright. And just imagining that He was holding my hand gave me comfort.

Could His hands be rough like Charlie’s? After all, He used those hands to fashion a universe. He uses those hands to move us about even if it means they get a bit soiled sometimes from the filth we get ourselves into. And in the immortal words of Thomas Dorsey, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.”