A Safe Place

"I'm ready to go to the store, Mom," said Aurelia. "You said you needed some milk, right? Anything else?""I also need a loaf of bread and a package of cheese," Mom replied. "Oh, and I could use some cornstarch and some baking powder too. Can you remember all that?" She glanced at her daughter. "What are you doing?" asked Mom.Aurelia lifted her head and grinned. She turned her hand to show her mother what she had done. "I wrote the list on my palm with this pen so I'll be sure to know what you need. I could have made a list on paper, but I might have lost that. I can't lose my hand." Mom laughed. "That's a unique idea. Okay, I think that's everything--but hold on just a minute. I want to show you an interesting verse in the Bible." She walked over to her desk, picked up her Bible, and opened it to the book of Isaiah. "Read this," Mom said, pointing to a verse. "Read it out loud and tell me what you think of it."Aurelia read the verse. "See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands." She looked up at her mom. "Hey, that's cool! God writes on His palms too."Mom nodded. "Actually, He does more than just write. After all, that ink will wash off your palm--at least I certainly hope it will! But God told the people of Israel they were inscribed on His palms, and we can apply that to Christians too. Some translations use the word engraved. Engraving goes deeper than writing. It won't ever come off." Mom smiled at Aurelia. "Whenever I read that verse, I think of Jesus's hands. When He appeared to His disciples after He rose from the dead, He had scars on His palms where He had been nailed to the cross for our sins. Those scars show how much He loves us. I'm so thankful I'm engraved on God's palms." Aurelia was silent for a moment. She looked down at the black writing on her hand. "Me too." She closed her hand over the writing. "It's a safe place to be, isn't it?" -Lynn Stamm Rex