By Ann Farabee

Have I mentioned that I have two new grandbabies? One of them is now 14 months, and the second one is 14 days. GG loves them very much.

The 14-month-old has learned a wonderful trick. Every time he sees me, he reaches his arms up to me, so I can pick him up. It is a quite effective trick, as it works every time.

How he can appear to be so desperate to be held in my arms, I really cannot understand. He either really loves me or he feels as if he can accomplish something great while in my arms that he cannot accomplish while standing there all alone.

He is right about that, you know. Once I pick him up, he is no longer “alone” in the room. He feels the power of the human touch. From there, he is able to receive and receive and receive, while carried from place to place and more. He will be read to, talked to, sung to, walked around, bounced around, played with — the list is fairly endless.

Sure, I could do those things without touching him or holding him, but why would I do that?

When he arrives for his visit, his car seat is placed on the kitchen table, so he can be unstrapped. When he sees me, he begins kicking his feet and flailing his arms around, excitedly waiting to be held by his GG.

No words are needed. Oh, he knows a few words, but why bother? I will speak on his behalf. I have heard him say Mama, Dada and pig. I assume the word pig comes from the stuffed pig he carries around from the book, ‘If You Give a Pig a Pancake.’

Yes, he is a precious little guy who still speaks more with his eyes, hands, and feet than with his voice.

So I call him my quiet handful.

Quiet means peace, calm or still. A handful means as much or as many as the hand will grasp. Yes, I want as much peace, calm, or stillness as my hands can hold.

Peace means tranquility and freedom from disturbance. Calm means peaceful. Stillness means the absence of movement or sound.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 says it is better to have one handful with tranquility than two handfuls of hard work and of trying to catch the wind.

Another translation is, ‘Maybe so, but it is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind.’

Catching the wind? Really? We know we cannot catch the wind.

So why do we waste our time and energy?

Peace? Calm? Stillness? Where is that? It is in us.

1 Corinthians 3:16 says that the Spirit of God dwells in us.

Dwell means lives in. The Spirit of God dwells in me.

A quiet handful of peace, calm, and stillness dwells in us.

Hold out your hands — Ask God to remind you of that quiet handful of peace, calm, and stillness that dwells in you.

Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.