Whose Hands?

If I was holding a basketball, it would only be worth about forty bucks……If LeBron James holds it, Ebay says it's now worth about $3000.

A football in MY hands is worth about fifty dollars…..According to Chat-GPT, dividing the money he's earned by every pass attempt in his career, in the hands of Peyton Manning, even the incomplete passes were worth $90,300. Each.

A golf club in my hands would be worth about a hundred....If you put the same golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods, every single time he struck the ball in professional competition, it was worth $19,700.

If I have a wooden stick, I might be able to scare an animal with it…..In the hands of Moses, it parts the Red Sea.

A sling shot in MY hands is a toy. In the hands of David, it slays lions and bears and giants.

To me, a couple of fish and five pieces of bread would be lunch. In the hands of Jesus, that one meal feeds thousands.

With a couple nails in my hand, I could hammer two boards together. Nails in Jesus's hands provides salvation and eternal life for those who choose to accept Him.

You see, the value of an object depends on whose hands it is in. If you keep your worries and fears in your own hands, that's all they will ever be. But if you put those same worries and fears in the hands of Jesus, He will take care of them all.

"But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, 'You are my God!' My future is in your hands." (Psalm 31: 14-15) 

The above thought was shared with me by my friend Andy Andrews. It really made me consider the responsibility I have to others. Think about this as it relates to the people in your hands every day.

Your clients and referral partners; Do they feel like a transaction, or do they feel like they're finally in hands that can walk them somewhere better? A rate quote is worth about the same no matter who delivers it. But the same conversation, held by someone who actually cares whether that family sleeps well tonight, is worth something completely different. It's Hope.

The families whose loan you're processing, underwriting and closing. Are they a file moving through a queue, or are they the most important person you're serving right now? Chaos feels different when the hands holding it are steady and paying attention. It feels like Peace.

Your teammates; do they feel picked up and supported in your hands, or just another person on the track your train is running on? Your spouse, your kids, your friends. Are they handled with the same care you'd want someone to handle what matters most to you? In your hands are they better for the encounter?

None of us are LeBron. None of us are Tiger Woods. But we don't have to be, because we're not the object here. We're the stewards of the gift. And the people God puts in front of us today are worth exactly as much as the care we hold them with. Just like we are in His hands.

Who is in your hands today and what does it feel like?

Pick one relationship this week; a client, a teammate, someone at home and treat it like it's worth $19,700 a swing. Slow down. Pay attention. Make it feel that way. But before you do, make sure you are firmly in the only hands that can make it possible.

P.S. When I think about the influence we have with people, I realize how important it is for me to have coaches that I trust to steer me into the right hands. Andy Andrews is one of those people. His program Creating Measurable Results is a resource I have trusted for years. Check it out: https://creatingmeasurableresults.com/128-hours/