Signed By Hand by Emily Owen

 

‘You could write about us next!’ said my nephew.

He was, along with his brother and sister, forming a ‘rocket’ to launch 30 Days with Ruth.

(If you’d like to come along to the online celebration of the book, it’s tonight (22^nd April) at 7.30pm UK time – you’ll be very welcome: get your ticket here)

The children are Abigail, Josiah, and Micah, so they do all have biblical names, hence the ‘you could write about us next’ suggestion.

9-year-old Abigail said, ‘Well, Micah would work, there’s quite a lot about him in the Bible. And Josiah might work, he was a king. But Abigail might be tricky, because there’s not much about her.’

If I ever need a ghost writer, I know where to turn.

If I ever need a ghost signer, though, I know where not to turn.

Watching me sign books, Abigail said pointedly, ‘If I wrote books, I would sign them neatly.’

I fear asking her to emulate my handwriting would be going a step too far; I couldn’t put the child through such trauma.

I like signing books. I like receiving signed books, too. I think there’s something special about having a book marked by the author’s own hand.

Many years ago, my uncle took me to hear (yes, hear, and I’ve been deaf a long time!) Adrian Plass speak, and I remember my delight when afterwards he bought me a book – A Smile On The Face Of God - and Adrian Plass signed it for me (I must remember to ask Abigail her opinion of A.P’s handwriting):

I regularly receive correspondence from my medical team, which often ends with something like; ‘dictated but not signed, to avoid delay’. The doctors dictate the letter, but don’t have time to sign it themselves (which is fine): they don’t have time to add the unique mark that in itself says, ‘this is from me’.

As I was thinking about writing, and signing, a couple of verses from Psalm 139 (16 and 5) came to mind;

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.

Dictated, and signed, by God.

Our days are covered by God.

Our words are covered by God.

Our writing is covered by God.

His own hand, reminding us that He is the Author of our lives.

He always has time.

He knows.

It reminds me of an old song – yes, I’m going down memory lane today – ‘I do not know what lies ahead….but I know Who holds the future.’

I pray that, whatever our days look like – writing and otherwise – we will find rest in His knowing.

Rest in His always having time.

And rest in His joy as He lays His hand on us.

Numbers 6:24-26

‘May the LORD bless you and protect you.

May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.

May the LORD show you his favour and give you his peace.’