“See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”   Isaiah 49:16a

“Mom, do you know what this word says?” my teenaged daughter asked me, revealing a Hebrew word on her upturned palm.

I shook my head.

“It’s God’s name.  He wrote my name on His hand, so I wrote His name on mine.”  She explained that while on a retreat, she and the other girls put Yahweh on their hands using a henna, a kind of temporary tattoo.

My daughter inspired me. I thought about God’s huge hand that measured the waters of the earth (Isaiah 40: 12).  Surely the hand that marked off the Heavens could hold a vast number of names–that includes yours and mine!

Just like my daughter, it gives me a special feeling to know that my Heavenly Father thinks so highly of me that He etched my name on the palm of His hand.  It’s a constant reminder of how greatly God cherishes His children.

If we could grasp how precious we are to God, I think it would alter the way we view ourselves forever.  We are of great worth to God.

My daughter definitely understood that having her name engraved on God’s Hand makes her special in His eyes.  As I watch her faith grow, my own faith deepens.  As precious as she is to me, she is even more precious to God.

The current craze of tattoos has people placing symbols on themselves that are meaningful to them.  It seems God thought of this first.  His loved ones are written on the palm of His hand.

-Sandra Merville Hart