Carved On The Palm of His Hand
Excerpts
Excerpt One: Introduction
I first titled the book A Time for Searching. Halfway through the years of working on it, I realized the title referred to only one chapter. Then one day, I saw a plaque on a table at a garage sale. Immediately I realized the title should be changed to Carved on the Palm of His Hand, as close to a telegram from God that I had ever received. See! I will not forget you . . . I have carved you on the palm of my hand. (Isaiah 49:15) Now, I could see! I had thought God had forgotten me. All the while, God was carving me on the palm of His hand. As a potter with a piece of clay, working and molding it to match the vision he had for it and keeping it in His shop until ready for use, so God had kept me hidden in the palm of His hand. He may have even put me on the shelf for years—or so it seems, “For I am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that I should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:9).
Excerpt Two: Chapter Nine
Determined to find my way back to happiness and fulfillment, I moved toward the second path. I traveled only a short distance when I sensed the unmistakable presence of God walking close beside me, sharing His truths. “I don’t will for you to be unhappy,” God gently encouraged, “I love you. I care for you.” Second, He confirmed the path I had chosen. “Don’t wait for Art to change himself and become the same person who once needed you. Do not count on that happening. He won’t even be able to help you solve your problem because he is in an entirely different place than you. Only I can help you. You must begin at once, listening and trusting that still, inner voice you have come to recognize as Mine. You must be fully prepared to act whether or not Art understands.”
The key to solving my problem came during the following weeks as I studied the Scriptures in my women’s circle and Sunday school classes. Through reading God’s Word, the Holy Spirit ministered to my needs. “The root of your unhappiness is idolatry,” was His startling pronouncement. “You have gradually elevated Art to a pedestal, the same pedestal on which many others place their husbands. He has become the center of your life. Your depression is directly related to your preoccupation with him, his importance, and his activities.”
“As a result,” He continued, “you now find yourself in the dangerous dilemma Jesus warned about: serving two masters. Your husband has become an idol in your life, and you must take immediate steps to put him back in his proper place of importance. You must take your eyes off your husband and look instead to Jesus. Your dependency on Art must be transferred to Him where it rightly belongs. It is necessary for you to arrive at a place in your spiritual life, where you can say, and mean it, that Jesus is the center of your life. He will totally care for you, filling any needs you might have. You must arrive at a place where you can truthfully say, ‘I can get along without Art if that is required of me.’”
Excerpt Three: Chapter Nine
Preparing for the adoption served to draw us together. Together we prepared the nursery and talked about the event that would no doubt change our lives drastically. This was an event only husband and wife could intimately share together—not pastor, not parishioners, not friends, and not family. Although Art did not identify with my emotions as a woman unable to conceive, we stood together sharing the embarrassment, humiliation, and anger at the invasion of our privacy as news of our adoption became known. “How long have you been trying; is there some kind of trouble?” Equally upsetting was unsolicited advice. “Keep it a secret, there’s no need to tell anyone,” or “out-of-town people won’t ever need to know.”