The Things We Hold

 She had just turned forty, her seventh baby tied to her back.  Her hands were worn from tilling fields in her husband's absence.  I saw weariness in her eyes, but also an unexpected kind of peace.  For every hardship, every year she felt overwhelmed or forgotten, the kindness of simple things remained--like the way a baby's foot feels in the deep hollow of your hand.

 What kind of goodness have you discovered lately in somebody's hands?  Or better yet, show us what you are holding in awe and wonder these days.   Leave us links to your hands or another's in the comments below.

Comments

[Zoey]

Such a beutiful picture and some words to go with it that makes one think about the good things in life!

[Shelli]

Beautiful photograph. Beautiful words.



http://www.mamaofletters.com/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy/Pages/Nikon_D60.html#4

[*pixie*]

So many lovely elements. The contrast between the dark skin and the highlight on her nail are really catching.

[kristin]

jen your images are so incredibly powerful from your trip. i am just in awe of you and them. thank you.

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

A Blossoming Prayer......

http://wayfaring-wanderer.blogspot.com/2008/05/on-mission.html

[camerashymomma]

beautiful jen, the photo and the words.

i hold his fears and worries in my hand. i hold him no questions asked.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2614042725/

[Lawyer Mama]

I love photos of hands and feet. They show so much of a person's life and character.

http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2442493386/in/set-72157603643073069/

http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2501155438/in/set-72157605213832600/

[Jenty]

Oh wow, that's an incredible photo!

[star8278]

My God-Daughter seemed to hold innocence in her hands on her First Holy Communion day in April...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3198/2446578569_b5a880e451.jpg

My niece and Nephew hold each others hands and hold on to childhood innocence as well...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3118/2563819845_0d6b668ceb.jpg

My mother holds a second chance at love in her hands. She re-married in April of last year.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/229/476783977_f7e9bd3ed6.jpg

[Missy Sue Hanson]

I'm actually holding my camera....and more importantly, myself in awe these days. Yesterday, I took a break from a stressful day and what I thought was just some craziness turned into a therapeutic sesssion with myself and the mirror........

http://www.lorelairoark.net/2008/06/good-things-in-life-photography.html

[renee]

What a gorgeous photo! I can actually feel a baby's foot in my hand when I look at it.

I took this photo yesterday, while in the strawberry patch, of the sweet goodness held in my daughter's berry stained hand:

http://fimby.tougas.net/photo_pickin

Berries are sweet but my girl is even sweeter!

[Stephanie]

I have two. The first is of each of my kids holding fruit in their hands. I love how I can tell who each set of hands belongs to. I love their hands:
http://slsmithphotgraphy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/howdy-monday.html

The second is their beautifully imperfect bady parts that I hold in my heart:
http://slsmithphotgraphy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/06/quirky-beautifu.html

[e.darcy]

My papa's hands will be a smell that I will remember for all the days of my life. They are rough-with all the years of his hard work, smell of machinery oil and tobacco. He'd rub my back with his bare hand but it was so rough it felt like he was scratching instead.
His hands are so big that when I hold his, my hand is still swallowed and small-I can still hold onto his pinky the way I did when I was 5.

Hands...they tell the story of our life. The hardships we've gone through-but they gesture, caress...they give a pat on the back.

Here, I've watched my mothers hands soothe me-and now, watching her as a grandmother to my niece and nephews...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2095979594/in/set-72157600746388045/
They have changed so much. It's in her hands that I really see her age-a grandmother. Imagine! my mom...

In these hands, I hold hope.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2513920163/

In my brothers hands, that holds the future...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2378402374/

[jill]

my daughter who is so not girly was changing the wheels on her skateboard. i just loved her hands and delicate fingers as she worked to put it together.

http://whatsthiswhatsthis.blogspot.com/2008/06/these-hands-are-small-i-know-but-theyre.html

[Ashley]

really beautiful capture.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleydano/2531299636/in/set-72157605300314278/

i am constantly straightening frames on the walls....

[Heather]

Beautiful image, Jen.

In the Sundarban Islands in the Bay of Bengal, families often spend the day together on their fishing boats. I watched a woman pulling the family's boat ashore, and couldn't resist snapping a picture of her hands... http://www.flickr.com/photos/fumblingforwords/2414060286/in/pool-shuttersisters

[Janine]

Beautiful. I have been on several mission trips and am amazed at the strength of the women I have met. You explained it perfectly, "I saw weariness in her eyes, but also an unexpected kind of peace."

I have a much more light-hearted holding...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25744047@N03/2613543172/

[pam]

http://howlerpost.blogspot.com/
My mother in law and her brother who live for these times.

[Marcie]

This one image is definitely worth 1000 words. Beautiful post.

[carrie]

Not a hand shot, but something I'm definitely holding in awe, even though he's the 4th one!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/carrielouise/2565281449/

[laura - dolcepics]

What a beautiful photo Jen! I love feeling the softness of a baby's foot and of course hands.

I'm always in awe and wonder with my child and how quickly she's growing and learning. It amazes me to think back at when she was first born, how drastically her world changed and was forced to adapt to everything.

She is also in wonder of everything around her and I love it!

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/little-hands/

[Joelle]

Wonderful image and powerful words! I am so engaged by your thoughts and memories about your trip to Rwanda. Thank you so much for sharing them.

I am in awe of both of my children's love and fascination for nature. I love the grimy fingers and the gentle way my 2 year old is holding her newest discovery.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsliedtke/2614065437/?edited=1

[Jen]

Absolutely beautiful post Jen.

This is my dad holding my daughter's hands. It melts my heart every time I see it!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlynn28/2402507526/in/set-72157604332211904/

[mika]

beautiful hands... i think i'd like to do a series of just photographs of hands someday...for now...

a little bit of life... http://www.flickr.com/photos/msquid/2064657585/

[Aileen]

What a great post (and photo). I have a fascination with all the hands in my life, and following your inspiration, I've done a post dedicated to just that.

It all starts with five generations together (if you can believe that!):

http://makemineaquad.wordpress.com/2008/06/27/the-hands-of-time/

Thanks for the inspiration!

[Lauren C.]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophiesings/2615809593/sizes/l/

[lora]

holding the stemless flower tops i get from my two year old:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28987938@N00/2594988911/in/set-72157605717261098/

[Elaine]

The most beautiful and moving image I have seen in a long time. This one will stay in my memory.

[Christy]

So incredibly touching!

These are the hands I hold dear, at least when she lets me hold them ;)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdwells711/2487792121/

[O]

All the photos I've seen so far are outstanding. Here's mine...http://www.flickr.com/photos/64193962@N00/2396682996/in/set-72157603731676749/ My daughter won't be willing to do this kind of photo too much longer so I'm glad I went with my creative thoughts when I did. Happy Weekend, everyone :)

[melody]

Jen, thank you for sharing pieces of Rwanda and of your heart. The photo is phenomenal.

Samples of what hands around my house hold...
http://slurpinglife.typepad.com/slurping_life/2008/06/meet-mr-arnold.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melsphotophun/467471916/

[Ursula]

Beautiful words and hands-what a testament to a woman's strength, courage and love.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cuzamora/2616121813/
My son's palm-it's amazing that something so small can hold me completely.

[mary]

What a wonderful photo, and a wonderful post. How much we have to learn from one another -- in the end, we are all mothers trying to find the best we can for our children.

Here are my hands, holding a sculpture that was deeply cherished by my own mother...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/2493139550/

[Maegan]

Jen, I just love reading your words and I admire the voice you are giving to those sweet people.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbeasoap/2614636426/

[Jen]

Beautiful photo.

Hands http://www.flickr.com/photos/mijita/2148395338/

[Christine (AbbyGAP)]

Wow! Just so heart warming/moving/wrenching... love it!

[jfrancis]

The Long Journey

Children
are the distance
we travel
for Love.

[Anali]

I did a "teaser" post for an upcoming post with the recipe for scones that I just baked. The teaser just shows my boyfriend's hands holding the scone and getting ready to eat it. I really like how this picture came out.

http://analisfirstamendment.blogspot.com/2008/06/coming-up.html

[millie price]

i love this shot because it reminds me of childhood, when getting messy and slimy was so cool.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27664447@N08/2618551745/

[wn]

I LOVE hand pictures..there's something so intimate about them.

Here are a couple I took during my son's first couple of weeks home this past Spring.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wordnerd/2345034433/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wordnerd/2345034407/

[Mary]

This is my daughter blowing bubbles. It was last summer when she was five. Everything for her is a science lesson, and invokes thought, creativity, and sheer wonder. It's amazing how a simple act of holding stick and blowing into a soapy solution can fuel the brain of a child.

http://flickr.com/photos/stoneybrook/1104351854