I'm Real

It was only in the last few years that I read the story of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.  The story begins on Christmas morning when a little boy finds a stuffed rabbit in his stocking.  The boy liked the rabbit and loved on him but in the bustle of the morning, the little rabbit was forgotten.  The rabbit lived here and there in the nursery and the other toys were not very nice to him.  It was only The Skin Horse that was kind to the little rabbit.

"The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.  "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."  "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."  "I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. "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." "

Have you ever felt as ragged as the Skin Horse?  Feeling shabby?  I know that there are some days in our home that I feel shabby.  It is a blessing however to have a dear husband and four little girls to love off most of my hair, cause me to get loose in the joints and feel as though my eyes have dropped out.  :0)   My husband and my children have blessed my life beyond any measure.  I am thankful that I am "Real", like Skin Horse.  I am thankful to have a husband that knows I am here to take care of him.  I am thankful that God has entrusted me to raise up and teach three little girls.  I cannot imagine life without my husband and children.  Wife to my beloved husband of nearing 19 years and Mother to four little girls...I would not have it any other way, not even for one single day.

"28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  ~~Matthew 11:28-30

"Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come."  ~~Proverbs 31:25

posted by Mrs. Klause

October 23, 2007

Music: 4 a.m. by Candlelight by David Nevue

Comments

[Mrs. Hall]

I have always loved that story. I'll have to pull it out and read it again...for the hundredth time. :-) All the girls will love it again too.

[Melinda]

This post filled me with joy and renewed me in a way you can't possibly imagine today. Thank you!!!