becoming Real

For the past few weeks, I have been re-reading some of the children's classics. And if you've been following along with our Pray, Grow, and Serve series, you have too! I was so blessed by a specific passage in The Velveteen Rabbit this week that I wanted to share it with you in case you missed 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."

If we consider this discourse about becoming "real" as an allegory for growing in holiness, the lovely words take on an entirely new meaning. Conforming our hearts to the heart of Christ is the journey of life, the purpose of our existence - the transformation of love for which we were created. Sometimes, it does hurt; in fact, sometimes, it's excruciating. The cross is heavy and leaves its mark - and the mark of crucifixion is ugly to anyone who doesn't understand. 

But, when you do understand, it is the most beautiful thing in the world. 

Read this story and our Pray, Grow, & Serve with your kiddo. Share it with your Faith Formation classes. Sit down with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and read it to your spouse. Talk about growing in holiness. Talk about love. Talk about the marks left by the Cross… Talk about heaven. 

Amen, friends. Happy early 4th of July!

For the last few weeks, we are sharing our Pray, Grow, & Serve kid’s devotionals based on old classics with you. Check out the book from the library, read the story with your littles, and plant seeds! This week, we are sharing the story of The Velveteen Rabbit. After reading, have a Christ-centered, life-affirming discussion with your children using our PGS.

For more information about joyfully reawakening a culture of life within your domestic church, visit www.pelicanprojectministry.org.