manicures and communion

One of my favorite things to do is to take Hannah to the nail salon and get our nails done. She is girly girly and really enjoys the beauty of fresh polish. I just like to have someone give them the kind of attention that I don't have the equipment or the desire to do.

When you get a manicure, or a pedicure for that matter, one of the things that you notice is that they touch you all the time. It's not simply that they hold your hand to get a better angle on your finger tips, but they gently caress your hands, they put lotion on them and then massage the lotion into your skin. They hold them gently in the palm of their own. There is lots of touching. And at times it feels very intimate, even though you don't have a clue what your manicurist is saying to you--something about gel coating.

I often wonder as the woman (or man) across from me caresses my hands if there are people who come to get a manicure just because they long to be touched (and not in a massage parlor kind of way)?

On Sundays when we celebrate Holy Communion, I think about people who are lonely a lot. Partially, because it's a time where we remember that we are one body, united under one Lord sharing one loaf and one cup. We are communing with each other and God. It's a built in time of community. Lot's of one-ness. Partially, I think about the lonely at this time because I know that there are women and men who when they leave the church will go home to an empty house or to a loveless home. It's this stark comparison of what God wants and offers for us and the world that we live in sometimes--sometimes by own choice or the consequences of our choices and sometimes out of unfortunate circumstances.

When it's time to receive the elements, I always try to touch the hand of the person when I place the bread in it and remind them of what it represents before I say their name.  I do sometimes wonder if it comes across as creepy-- I try not to linger or caress, but I figure that there are two lines and if it really bothers someone they can go to the other one next month. But I do it because I know that sometimes this may be the only touch that a person receives in a day or a week and the human touch is so powerful. It conveys connection and warmth and caring. It helps us know that we are not alone and it helps us heal.