Thursday, October 14, 2010

You Are Special


I was walking past my parents room a few minutes ago and I noticed a book on their bed. I love books so I stopped to investigate. It was a copy of the childrens story You Are Special by Max Lucado. I love this little book. I've heard it many times and the message always hits home for me and I can't wait to have children so I can read it to them too. Everyone in the world should read this little book, or so I think. :)
The story is about this little wooden creature called a Wemmick by the name of Punchinello (yes, the names are one of the reasons why I love the book). Anyway, these little beings live in this village by a hill. On the hill lives the woodworker named Eli, remember that. Every one of the Wemmicks are different in both appearance and ability.
Every day these little wooden men and women go out and stick stickers on each other. They all have star and grey dot stickers. When the Wemmicks see a particularly pretty or talented Wemmick they put a star sticker on them. But when the Wemmicks see another Wemmick with chipped paint, oddly proportioned body parts or who lack skills that they deam impressive they stick a grey dot on them. Well, our little Punchinello isn't handsome or talented so he's covered in grey dots. He becomes so disheartened that he doesn't even want to leave his home for fear of getting more dots stuck to him.
One day he meets this unique Wemmick who has no stars or grey dots anywhere on her person. Punchinello is astonished to find that even when other little wooden people try to put stickers on her they just fall off. Curious, he asks her why this happens to her. She tells him to go talk to the woodworker on the hill and he would find out. Of course, Punchinello has never met the woodworker so naturally he doesn't know if he should go talk to him, what if he doesn't want to see Punchinello? Eventually he decides to climb the hill to talk to the woodworker.
Eli, the woodworker, greets Punchinello like a long lost son. He explains to Punchinello that it doesn't matter what the other Wemmicks think, it only matters what he thinks about Punchinello. Well what does he think you may ask? I'm not even going to summarize this part cause I think it's the most touching part of the whole book. Okay, I might summarize a little bit. Haha. But anyway this is it.
"What they think doesn't matter, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you are pretty special."
"Me, special? Why? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling. Why do I matter to you?"
"Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me."
...
"Remember you are special because I made you. And I don't make mistakes."
Basically the whole point of this story is that it doesn't matter what the world thinks about us. It doesn't matter if your hair doesn't fall just the right way or that you've got a pimple on your face or that you just can't make that shoot or that you never seem to know the right answer in your chemistry class, the only thing that matters is that you are the son or daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves you very much. He doesn't make mistakes, you are everything in His eyes. You may not think He listens to you or that He cares but he does. He knows what you go through and He feels saddness and pain when you do too. He is there for us, we've simply to reach out to him. Once we start to see ourselves as he sees us then we will begin to care less and less about what the world says or thinks. Sure things will still be hard but they'll become just that much more bearable.
Just remember..... You. Are. Special.

2 comments:

kari said...

...you know Brianne everytime I read this lil book, I cry...crazy huh. Ive given it to many lil ones babtisms because I think it says it ALL!. P.S I like your blog!

Bri said...

Aw...thank you. And I totally know what you mean; the book is amazing. I love the message. :)

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