Hands in the Air!

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     We say so much with our hands without even thinking about doing it.  Remember the popular exression several years ago "talk to the hand?"  We use our hands to give and receive, to say "come" or "go", to show our intents and feelings.  At our church here in Congo, people extend open hands during the benediction as if to be accepting God's blessing.  When a child raises his hands up to his parents, he is saying "I want you. I trust you.  Pick me up!"  We raise our hands to show excitement when cheering for our favorite team.  At amusement parks some people on the rides have their hands in the air and smiles on their faces.  Others, not so much.
     It isn't hard to compare real life with a roller coaster ride.  Both can be terrifying, taking sudden unexpected changes in direction and going way too quickly for us to take it all in.  You can't always see what's ahead and sometimes it turns everything upside down.  On the other hand (no pun intended), both can also be a thrilling wind-in-the-face experience that leaves us laughing and saying "That was an awesome ride!"  Some of us ride roller coasters with our hands in the lap bar, white-knuckled and tense, dreading the ride.  Some though, anticipate a great ride and say to everyone else on the roller coaster:  "It's more fun if you ride with your hands in the air!"  They trust the safety straps to keep them in the right place and protect them.  If my walk with God were a roller coaster ride, I'd want to be a person that anticipates a great ride, knowing no matter which way it turns or how many loops it takes me through, He is there.  I want to ride reaching to Him in trust and ready to receive his blessings, and to let my companions know that it is more fun if you ride with your hands in the air.

     "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." Psalm 63:3-4