"The Work of His Hands"

"This I have come to know is true. My children are not the work of my hands. My hands are not the hands that hold them, not the hands that mold them, not the hands that work all things together in their lives for good. They are the work of God's hands. I am merely a tool in those hands, a tool He has used in some way, for a short time, to shape them.
Though merely a tool, I am a tool that loves them. And though the tool may be used only in some way and only for a short time, it will love them in all ways and for all time. Even after the tool wears out and has been put away, the love it once had for them will live on in them. I hope so, anyway.
There has been joy in having my children at home, and sorrow in letting go of them. Those feelings, I have come to understand are also tools, tools that God has used in some way, for a short time, in shaping me.
Perhaps as an artist,
But certainly as a human being."

"The Work of His Hands"
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Being Conformed to the Image of Christ
by Ken Gire

This is the best book I have read for a long time It only took me 2 hours to read and I couldn't put it down once I started It absolutely touched my heart in every way The book takes a statue called the Pieta by Michelangelo and compares how God uses everyday circumstances of our lives to chip at our stubborness of self and conform us to Christ The Pieta is a statue that Michelangelo sculpted when he was 24 yrs old It is Mary holding Christ in her arms after he has been crucified The analogies he uses will just pierce your soul It's a very small book ,134 pages, but very powerful