THE WHITE HANDKERCHIEF

I got a Christmas card this year
From a very special friend,
With a little note explaining
Why a hanky she did send............

She said, “Here’s a little gift, my friend,
Sent straight to you from me.
It’s like those cloths in the Book of Acts;
God blessed them, don’t you see?
As I held to this handkerchief,
I was praying just for you!”
(And I sensed that she’d been weeping
As she held that hanky, too.)

There was something quite intriguing
In the words I read that day
And it was a pretty hanky,
But I tucked it clean away;
And I thought but little of it
For it seemed to me so odd
Till a day when I was hurting,
Feeling far away from God........

Gathered up the Christmas treasures --
It was time to store them now.
There were cards all piled together,
And I thought of hers somehow.
I pulled out the linen hanky,
White-on-white, so pure and clean.
It seemed to glow with love and caring,
Filled with fervent prayers unseen.

As I held it to my bosom,
I began to understand:
God was watching as she prayed --
He held my burdens in His hand.
I don’t question how my Lord works --
He is God of night and day --
But when I held her tear-bathed hanky,
My own tears were washed away.