Toddler Handprints and God’s Creation

I was cleaning the windows the other day and noticed something that made me suddenly stop what I was doing. Instantly, my demeanor went from “daily-grungy-chores-blah” to “heart-lifting-cheery-smile.” What caused it?

A tiny handprint.

You see, just a few weeks ago (no judging as to how long it took me to clean!) my daughter-in-law and 1-year-old granddaughter came from out of town for a visit. This toddler handprint was an instant reminder of that.

But it was more. It got me thinking. How could an “organized smudge” evoke such an emotional response from me? It’s because that handprint belonged to someone specific…someone to whom my heart is attached.

And when I see it, her sweet face comes right to mind. I think of her reaching up to me to be picked up. I remember her little hugs.

There is another One whose handprints cause me to instantly stop in my tracks, changing my countenance almost immediately. I see these prints on things in creation. You see, when God makes something, his handprints are all over it. What he crafts is covered by his unique “organized smudges.”

So when I step outside to get the mail and suddenly see a lovely rainbow stretching across the sky, I stop in my tracks to marvel at it. As I observe the awesome complexity in creation when I look into a microscope, I am taken aback that my God spoke this into being. When I see a sunset, with its glorious colors, my heart soars at the design behind how white light bends and creates this mosaic of color.

A handprint.

What a magnificent thing. It’s a connection to the individual who left it. And in the larger scheme of things, it is a testimony to God’s creative power!