joplin humane society borrow a dog for a day

They have reeled in and helped other kids reel in countless fish. My hands helped teach my kids and grandkids to fish, hunt, and camp under the stars. Two special boys and three hand-squeezes! It is from years of trying to take care of my family and enjoying and writing about the great outdoors that God blessed us all with. They are now wrinkled like theirs were, but not from doing work like they endured. I am now older than they were when they went home to heaven. Grandpa and Grandma have been gone for many years. Doing that formed the foundation for my love of the great outdoors and what I would do with my life. Then, those same hands taught me how to use them. He used his hands to pass down his old fishing equipment and squirrel rifle to me. He took my hands in his and showed me how to milk the cows and feed the pigs. This was due to all the work he had to do around the farm for us to survive. Grandpa’s hands were sometimes sticky or wet, other times dried and raw, or bent and broken. She also taught me how to use my hands to haul water from the spring for cooking, washing dishes, and washing hands.

Those same hands taught me how to gather vegetables for her from the garden to can and cook. Her hands showed me how to feed the chickens, gather eggs for her from their nests, and butcher them to feed us. They taught me how to fold my hands in prayer. They held my face when she told me that she loved me. Her hands showed me how to tie my shoes or put on my boots when I was young. Grandma’s hands changed and washed my diapers. I learned by watching them use their hands to go about their daily lives on that farm. Their hands guided me into being the man I would become. They used them to survive and raise their family on the farm where I was born and spent my early years. They were old and wrinkled like the story I read. It reminded me of my Grandpa and Grandma’s hands. I recently read a story titled Grandpa’s Hands. “Take it one day at a time and put it in God’s hands.”.Guiding, caring hands of inspiration and love are all around us if we look.There is so much more to old, wrinkled hands than stories can share.

Joplin humane society borrow a dog for a day