Optimism: A Pierced Handout

In 1971 I was a senior in high school. One of the first jobs I had was at a 31 Flavors. I scooped ice cream. (And I ate good portions of it too!)

One of the other perks at Baskin-Robbins was the music. It was on all the time, and we listened to the radio for hours on end.





An interesting gospel pop song climbed the charts that year: Gene MacLellan’s “Put Your Hand In The Hand” recorded by a group called Ocean. (Until today I never knew who wrote it or recorded it: I just listened to it.)

I grew up Methodist, and gospel was new to me. (Maybe “unknown” to me would be more accurate.)

The lyrics of this song presented an option I’d never considered possible: a life led by God.



The first stanza of the song reads:

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself and-a you can look at others differently
By puttin' your hand in the hand of the man from-a Galilee.



The rest of the lyrics are much the same: a simple story, a simple invitation, a strange but wonderful notion to an open-minded 17 year old. It was downright inspirational!





(This song is on my personal, but short, play-list of inspirational songs.)

Full lyrics here.

The song on YouTube with a slide show here.