This was the third colouring design I drew, but I feel like it's the one which started it all - it was, among other things, the image which grabbed the attention of my now-publisher, and off we went. Beginning with an outline of my hand, I worked my way around without much of a plan, though you can see the influence of South Asian henna designs on the final product. A lot of my memories from childhood involve women getting together, telling stories and tattooing each others' hands with fine, organic lines.
I love the promise of God that He has marked our names and our stories on His hand - not by tattooing (which fades away), but far more permanently. When His people Israel were exiled from their homeland and complained that they had fallen from His memory, God's words through Isaiah the prophet are so touching:
Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. (Isaiah 49:13-16)
His love for us is greater than the love of a mother smitten by her newborn baby; it is never further from Him than the palm of His hand. Since I produced this image, people have contacted me to tell me how precious and reassuring this verse has been in dark hours of their lives, and I hope that as you colour and as you reflect on what God is saying, you too will know how precious you are to God.
