Palm Routes

Ever since I was a little girl I have loved football.  In my childhood days we only had 3 choices of TV stations in my house.  And also in those days, my daddy chose the station the entire family would watch for we only had one TV.  On Sunday afternoons, it was always football so I grew to love the game.  I was also a pretty good player, for a girl, as my brother liked to tell me.  I was often his "center" if the team needed an extra.  Occasionally, I got to play wide receiver however, this was a much more pressure packed position in the neighborhood.  After a dropped pass, my brother would say to me, "if the pass touches your hand, you should catch it!"Oops!

But my favorite part of the neighborhood games was the huddle.  We would get in the huddle and my brother would call the play.  Then he would stretch out his hand and diagram it on his palm, showing me the wide-receiver route.  I was exhilarated to be included in the huddle and be shown the plan on his palm.  I was much less exhilarated to return to the huddle having missed the catch.  Being benched on the neighborhood team wasn't good for my frail little sister ego.  Those are sweet memories for me today.

Last week as I was driving I saw five or six little neighborhood boys playing their own game of football.  The teams were separated and amongst the gang were little ones and big ones trying to compete and trying to score.  I wondered what their huddle was like and if there was a "palm play"?

As I search for meaning in these days of empty-nesting and the age bracket of 55+, I think about the palm showing the route for me.  There is one.  

I've been studying the story in the Bible about the master who upon leaving on a journey entrusted his servants with his property i.e., talents of money. (Matthew 25:14-30).  You remember, he gave 5 talents of money to one, 2 talents of money to another and one talent of money to the last.  Then the landowner went away.  When he returned the 5 had become 10, the 2 had become 4 and the 1 was still 1.  The master taught them about doing well with what they'd been given.

But my pondering has been about what he gave them and the fact that he gave them no specific instruction.  There was no detailed plan of what to do with the talents, no specific action called for, he didn't lay it out for them.....He gave them the talents, the time and the ability.  They only had to take a step and go.  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

Our Master gives us the same.  We have the talents, time and ability and no, we don't have the route marked before us but we KNOW He's in the lead.  Often times, I don't take the talents He's given me because I'm waiting for the route.  I become the servant who buried the 1 talent of money and let it stay one.  I want to be the servant given 5 talents and make it 10.  

Let's don't wait today.....let's claim sight unseen His palm route for each of us.....GO into your world and see those who are hurting and in need of a touch of love.  I bet they look like older ladies at the grocery store or students who seem to walk alone or people in the office who always seem to be in a struggle or.....or.......or........

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money." Matt. 25:14-18