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.
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And aren’t we similar to the rabbit in the story?
Asking questions. Wanting to know…
Am I really loved? Do I matter?
Would I still be loved if people knew the real me?
The author of this story was onto something.
That might be why so many people enjoy The Velveteen Rabbit.
They want to be real.
They want to be loved.
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The Velveteen Rabbit is a beautiful story…but, it’s just that…a make believe story.
BUT…
There is real love. Someone who knows all our imperfections, sees us at our worst and yet, longs for us to know Him.
It is the greatest love story ever told…
and the author is God.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:2 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 NIV
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 NIV
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Today I am thankful for:
* streaming sunshine
* walking the dog down the driveway
* a drive with hubby
* gorgeous hydrangea bushes
* roses
* a heart that overflows
* God who made a way for me
* Jesus’ sacrifice
* being chosen
* knowing what real love is
Related articles
- I’m Real (clothedwithscarlet.typepad.com)
- What is real? (becauseidreammoi.wordpress.com)
- Yearning for a puppy? Why not try a house rabbit? (frugallivingadvice.com)
It Just Dawned On Me 
Love the truth revealed in that story, and how God loves us despite knowing all about our sins, and imperfections…thanks…blessings to you, Dawn 🙂 linked up behind you at Ann’s blog
This is a beautiful post, Dawn. I’m so glad that I stumbled onto it today. Have a blessed day!