Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven.

The metaphor casts children as a means of spiritual reach: through caring for them, learning from their innocence, and investing in their moral formation, adults grasp something transcendent. "Hands" suggests both agency and connection—children are not merely symbols of heaven but the practical, lived way adults touch ideals like purity, faith, and future redemption. The saying also implies that love and responsibility within family life can be a form of religious practice, making the path to "heaven" less about abstract doctrine and more about relational devotion. In Beecher’s characteristic style, the line elevates ordinary parental affection into a spiritual vocation.