“May the favor if the Lord our God be ours.
Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!” (Psalms 90:17)
Look at your hands for a moment. Consider all
that they do.
Imagine the hands of Jesus who worked
alongside Joseph as a carpenter. What did he build after he held a piece of
wood in his hands, after he cut it, planed it, and created it into something
new? Imagine the hands of his Blessed Mother Mary, who held the infant Jesus,
who changed his diapers, who mended his clothing, who prepared his meals.
We spend so much time in front of a screen
these days, we take for granted the value of the work we do with our hands. Our
hands that prepare meals for those we love, hands that prune away weeds and
overgrown bushes, hands that hold another’s when they are ill.
Sister Rose Carmel Garay, 79, a Sister of the
Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence, beams with joy when she shares
something made by her hands. When she is not working full time with pilgrim
groups at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle – National Shrine, she
enjoys cooking and making religious items and jewelry.
Her joy is contagious. Sister Garay said
cooking and making jewelry give her energy. When working with beads, she finds
delight in the infinite possibilities and color combinations. “Discovering what
we can create with our hands are pure joy; they are God-given gifts,” she said. She added we can each experience this joy as
we discover our own gifts. It also gives her joy knowing her creations make
others happy and serve a purpose. The sales from her homemade salsas and the
items she creates contribute to the retirement fund for the religious sisters
in her order.
As I consider my own interest in sewing and
mixed media art, I find my recent fixation on making aprons stems from what
they represent. Yes, we value their utilitarian features intended to protect
our clothing when cooking, painting or gardening. For me, however, an apron
symbolizes something more. It points to the joy of undertaking such tasks,
activities that require the use of our hands, that pull us away from the
computer or from our sedentary habits. The simple act of putting on an apron
triggers the brain to focus on the work ahead. There is a humility too that
comes with honoring our role in creating something, whether it is a simple meal
or a work of art.
A CBS News story that aired March 18, 2018
highlighted “how busy hands can alter our brain chemistry.” The story featured
an interview with Dr. Kelly Lambert, a neuroscientist at the University of
Richmond. “I made up this term called ‘behaviorceuticals,’ instead of
pharmaceuticals,” she said, “in the sense that when we move and when we engage
in activities, we change the neurochemistry of our brain in ways that a drug
can change the neurochemistry of our brain.”
The story led me to Lambert’s book, Lifting
Depression: A Neuroscientist’s Hands-On Approach to Activating Your Brain’s
Healing Power. In the section, “The Work/Pleasure Connection,” Lambert
writes about effort-driven rewards. She notes, “Our brains are programmed to
derive a deep sense of satisfaction and pleasure when our physical effort
produces something tangible, visible….”
Our hands, she writes, “play a crucial role
when it comes to effort-driven rewards. “Any activity that requires you to use
your hands and that you enjoy, especially if it puts you into the flow zone,
will energize your effort-driven rewards circuit.”
Her research explains why I am drawn to hand
appliqué and crochet, and even activities that require my hands to get dirty,
like gardening and mixed media. Working with my hands actually serves as a
retreat from my day-to-day work. The joy of creating something by hand is
certainly rewarding. There is added joy when you can share your creations with
others. I find too that it connects me to the long history of women in my
family, principally my mother, who taught me how to sew.
Whether at home or at work, we all have gifts
God has given us. Look at your hands again. What is the work they are called to
do?
As we begin a New Year, our communications
team for the Diocese of Brownsville, which continually looks at the work we do
and try to do it better, recommits to gathering and sharing the stories
happening in the Church here in the Rio Grande Valley. We offer up the work of
our hands to utilizing all the communication resources available to keep you
informed. As St. Teresa of Avila said, we are his hands and feet.
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours;
no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must
look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing
good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people.”
(Originally
published in January 2019 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper)
