March 6 Touching His Hand

John 20:25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
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I sat down this morning and visualized being with the Lord in heaven. He takes my hand. I look at His scar and realize how He got it.

"Did it hurt, Lord?" I ask. What a stupid question. Of course it did! It went through sensitive nerves in His hands. I trace the outline with my finger. Tears form in my eyes. "Thank you, thank you, Lord."

He did this for me.
For you.

This photo was taken this morning... my hand with our son's hand. I held the camera in my left hand to get the shot!

I am not Catholic. I have been raised in the mission oriented Protestant denomination called The Christian and Missionary Alliance (www.cmalliance.org). This is our church today as well.

Aspects of Catholic/Liturgical church tradition have been helpful in developing my spiritual walk with God. I've taken advantage of Advent and Lent to prepare my heart for a deeper understanding of Christmas and Easter. This is generally not a part of most Evangelical church discussions. I don't necessarily follow the traditional Liturgical tradition exactly either. But what I do enriches my spiritual life.

The visualization meditation today I learned at a Catholic monastery in Atlanta Georgia (Monastery of the Holy Spirit http://www.trappist.net/).

Pray, meditating on a Scripture passage. Place yourself as one of the Biblical characters or a servant observing the passage first hand. Think of the sights, the smells, the sounds. Talk to the Lord.

I meditated on the doubting Thomas conversation. My thoughts and prayers turned to what it might be like to be face to face with the Lord in heaven. It was a powerful prayer time.