It is a matter of perspective.

My grandmother kept silver dollars hidden away where grandmother’s keep stuff. When asked she would produce the coins for grandchildren enjoyment. I remember those silver dollars were huge. They were heavy too. I wondered about people carrying more than a couple of them in their pockets. Would those heavy silver dollars make holes in their pockets?

The other day my banker wife brought home three silver dollars. They are Peace Dollars celebrating the conclusion of World War I. I held the dollars for a while.

I noticed something. Silver dollars are smaller now than when I was a child. They are not as heavy either. How can silver shrink?

The fingers holding those silver dollars are much older now. They are substantially larger than a child’s hands. My memory created Silver Dollars that are large and heavy. I have held that memory as reality. Those coins are associated with childhood memories of joy and fun. It was a special treat when my grandmother would allow us to play with the coins. The coins now in an adult hand don’t seem as large or as marvelous.

Life’s problems in our hands seem overwhelming. Our hands are not large enough or strong enough to deal with life stuff. We need help. We need other hands to carry the load. We need hands to take ours to remind us that we are not alone.

The gift we all need is the knowledge that there are other hands that will take our burdens and problems. There are other hands that will take our hands and hold them when we are struggling.

Those helping hands are nail scarred. His nail scarred hands will change our perspective on life and its challenges.

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