Page 38 - Unseen Hands by Nona Freeman

Unseen Hands
"Does this tree have edible nuts?"
"Neither we nor our fathers before us have eaten its nuts."
"Can its branches be grafted?"
"We have not seen its branches grafted."
"Which one do you think is bigger," Tekle pointed,
"this tree or the mountain yonder?"
They looked at the mountain thoughtfully and replied,
"The mountain is larger."
"Now, tell me," Tekle asked, "is the mountain or the
heaven bigger?"
All of them gazed at the sky and answered, "It must
be the heaven."
Praying silently, Tekle phrased the most important
question of all. "Is the heaven or the Creator of the heaven bigger?"
Everyonefellsilent.Thescowlshad vanished. Finally an old man said, "The one who created the heaven must be the greatest of all."
Tekle exclaimed with a happy smile, "I worship this bigCreatorofthe heavenand the earth, and I have come to tell you about Him."
As he talked about the almighty, invisible God, an elder interrupted him, "We have heard ofan invisible God. Long ago, one of our ancestors worshiped him. His neighbor who prayed to the oak tree always heard him call on a God in heaven. Famine came. Many of those who venerated the oak tree died, but the man who called on the God of heaven had a visitor clothed in light as bright
as the sun bring him a bag of money. The man and his family bought food and lived. My parents told me this story when I was a child." He turned to the crowd, "W hat
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