TENDER TOUCH

                                 THE VALUE OF TENDER TOUCH

        Touch is one of the most powerful communication tools. From a
mother's cradling embrace to a friend's comforting hug or a marriage
partner's caress, TOUCH has the special power to messages of union and
communion. Even a momentary and seemingly incidental touch on your
partner's shoulder or hand can strengthen the marital bond by conveying
affirmation, comfort and security.

       When Shirley and I were married at age nineteen in Nashville, Mack
Craig gave us a Bible with our married names on it. It's the only wedding
gift that has stayed with us through the years. We've read it together, and
we have always been faithful in church attendance and activity.
        And still we almost "came unglued"
        The entertainment business takes a terrible toll on marriages. The
stress and temptations tore at the very underpinnings of our marriage, and
for two years we thought it was over. But one day, walking past the piano
in our living room, I focused on a picture of Shirley that I'd seen a
countless times before. This time it transfixed me. It was a picture of her
at the age of three, with her arms around her father, Red Foley, [tenderly
TOUCHING him], and the adoring, needful, poignant expression of that little
girl seared itself into my heart. I realized that she was still that little
girl. Oh, she was now in her thirties with four kids, and a wonderful wife
and mother. I was used to seeing her as a grown woman, with some of the
wounds and resulting defences right at the surface. Her dad had recently
gone to be with the Lord, and I knew that little girl still needed a man to
protect, love, and nurture her.
        Suddenly, I wanted to be that man. I shared that with her, and we
shared some tears. The next Father's Day, she gave me a framed picture of
her as a little girl, and on the back she wrote: "Take care of this little
girl -- she needs you."
        It's been twenty-five years or more now, and I pray and worship
with that little girl, my grown-up wife, all the time. We're growing older,
but we're still kids to each other -- and somehow, kids can just love God
and each other better than grown-ups. What was it that Jesus said?  "Except
you become like little children, you shall in no wise enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:2).

  By Pat Boone

       PRAYER: "Gracious God, we thank you for the meaning -- even the
healing -- of one human being reaching out to touch another person. Your
touch gives us hope and motivation to reach out our healing arms to one
another. We thank you for the precious gift of a gentle caress. Help us to
practice the ministry of meaningful touch with each other...Amen."