Carved on the Palm of God’s Hands

There’s been a pattern in my life of being forgotten. A weaker person might have developed a complex. But I’ve learned that when people fail me, I can always count on God’s faithfulness.

What about me?

On the day of choosing names for my kindergarten gift exchange, I asked my teacher how she knew she’d put everyone’s name in the bag. She assured me that she had. I was satisfied by that until the day of the Christmas party when no one had brought a gift for me. The teacher scrambled to find a gift she’d received from a child in the morning class that would be suitable for me.

My Franciscan pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome started out shaky before I’d even left the U.S. When I arrived, ticket in hand, at the airport in Chicago, the airline could find no record of me on that flight or any other. Not being a seasoned traveler, and certainly not a seasoned international traveler, I could have panicked. Instead, I stood calmly at the counter until the problem was resolved. (The remainder of the pilgrimage was pure grace!)

More recently, I showed up at my doctor’s office one Wednesday morning for a pre-op check-up. They had no record of me having an appointment, nor was the doctor even in the office that day. Even though my surgery was scheduled for the following Monday morning, I didn’t panic but waited for them to find me a place in the schedule.

Grounded in God’s faithfulness

In my school years, we often sang Carey Landry’s “Isaiah 49” at Mass. As a kid, I always thought that was an odd title for a song, but the message is one that helped shape my relationship with our faithful God and my sense of self-worth.

Based on Isaiah 49:15-16: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” It’s an easy tune to return to when others have forgotten or even rejected me.

Lessons learned from being forgotten

1. People make mistakes.
2. Things (and people) fall through the cracks.
3. We may have good intentions, but we don’t always manage to follow through.
4. Forgetting doesn’t always equal not caring.
5. Don’t take it personally. If they really mean it to be personal, you’ll know.
6. Turn to God when people fail you. We are each inscribed on the palms of God’s hands.
7. In the end, it’s not so much about being remembered as people being reminded of God when they think of you.

How about you? When has a negative turned into a positive—because of your faith in God’s faithfulness?

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author

Joan McKamey

Joan McKamey has served in many capacities in her 15 years with Franciscan Media. She is currently the managing editor of Catholic Update, a monthly publication for adult faith formation of individuals and small groups. She also draws on her years as a parish catechetical leader in her columns for the monthly e-newsletter Faith Formation Update. She is married and is raising a teenage daughter.