'The hand that the nail pierced

The hand that the nail pierced

During our Civil War, word came to a mother that her boy had been wounded. She found her way to the hospital at the front. The doctor said to her, "Your boy is fast asleep. If you go in and wake him, the excitement will kill him. By and by, when he awakes, I will break the news to him gradually."

The mother, with her great hungry heart yearning to see her boy, looked into the doctor's face and said, "He may never awaken. If you will let me sit by his side, I promise not to speak to him." The doctor consented. She crept to the side of the cot and looked into the face of her boy. How she longed to embrace him! She could not resist laying her gentle loving hand on his forehead.

The moment her fingers touched the boy's brow, his lips moved and he whispered, without opening his eyes, "Mother, you have come." Even in his sleep, he knew that touch of love.

The human touch on lives who need comfort, healing, and blessing — carries wonderful healing power.

But shall we not bow our heads for the touch of Christ Himself? He lays His hand gently and lovingly upon our brow. Some of us may be in sorrow ; some are in afflictions ; some have their burdens . But do you not recognize that soft touch of Christ's hand — the hand that the nail pierced ? May the touch give joy to everyone!

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