awhile back i read The Velveteen Rabbit again....a wonderful read. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but one of the best sermons i think i've ever heard was in a little campmeeting in Mi., by Bro. John Parker when he read a portion from this book, relating it to what the essence of Holy living means. That illustration has stayed with me all these years. This beautiful word picture of "being real" has been on my mind in the last few days....
~"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."~
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."~
(from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery
Williams Illustration by William Nicholson)
Williams Illustration by William Nicholson)
8 comments:
Tony Campolo used this in a sermon in a memorable way as well. Loved it.
Nice post! Love the Velveteen Rabbit. (Alex has one that he has systematically de-furred its hindquarters and tail. He likes to pull out bits of fuzz to rub between his fingers, while he sucks his thumb, while he snuggles with his blankie, while he goes to sleep)
I have to say, some days it hurts to be real, but the joys of the most Real Place Ever will be worth it!
Wow! Thx for posting this :) I'm sad to say that I am not certain I have read the Velveteen, perhaps when I was much younger. This was inspiring to me today! :)
How have I never read this book? I must get it. Beautiful!
For some reason this made me teary today. Love the book. I still have the copy you gave me. =)
Always a favorite of mine too, Kimberly. Such beautiful truth. Thank you for bringing it to mind.
Great book and blog, Kimberly. Loving does hurt sometimes, but it is so well worth the risk.
Aw....I like this, girl! Absolutely beautiful! I love this story, too! :)
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