Reach Out and Touch Someone

We all know the power of a caring touch. The doctor who treated us, the teacher that dried our tears, the hand holding ours at a funeral, the hand of our sweetheart reaching out to hold ours, or a handshake of welcome at an event?

Shouldn’t we be reaching out touching others also? Many of us do. We use our hands to pray for the sick, or to reach out with a congratulatory high-5 or even to write a letter or make a call or bake a pie for someone who needs us.

My nephew, Mark David Lawrence, a Skilled Nursing Facility Administrator, in the early 90’s, opened an 8-bed AIDS unit in his facility. That was still at a time when healthcare workers and the general public were uneducated about the disease, and the rumors ran rampant as to how AIDS was spread. Mark and his medical team, spent hours teaching and training. They opened the unit, and were full within a few weeks. One day, during his daily rounds, he learned a valuable lesson…..the power of a simple touch of his hand as he shook the hand of a new patient, and held it for a moment. Tears welled up in the patient’s eyes and he uttered the words, “You are touching me, and you are not wearing gloves”. Out of all the classes and seminars he attended, the most valuable lesson Mark learned in caring for people, was simply the touch of his hand on someone who was hurting.

Let’s make the difference in someone’s world today….by reaching out and touching them. They’ll know they are loved, and appreciated when we do! Diana Ross sang it so well: “Reach out and touch somebody’s hand — make this world a better place, if you can!”