Jack’s Winning Words 6/27/13
“When you are real, you don’t mind that it hurts.”  (The old Skin Horse)  In the book, How Toys Become Real, a stuffed rabbit asks an older toy how to become real.  He’s told that you become real through magic and through the love of a little boy.  “When you are loved for a long, long time, not just to play with, you become real.”  The rabbit wonders, “Does it hurt?”  Today’s quote is the answer.  It’s like that in real life, too.    ;-)  Jack

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  Thought-provoking WW. I don't believe I would like to be real and not be a Christian.====JACK:  The "great" commandment speaks about love for self, neighbor and G-d.  It is for the believer to define what love is in each of thos situations.

 FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  True enough! C.S. Lewis wrote of it too in Shadowlands. Referring to his own experience of loss (the death of his mother) as a child, he said that he then chose "safety". (He seemed to find his safety in academics and theology -- something that wouldn't leave him, and God that can't die.) For many, safety from such pain is to avoid making intimate connections with most anything or anyone (that would eventually experience death). As you know, he later fell in love with a woman who had cancer, and married her amidst the torment of its destructive nature. This certainly isn't the manner of one who seeks safety from the suffering of loss. Quite to the contrary, he accepted both cutting edges of the sword in this circumstance. There was no avoiding it. Lewis notes the difference he learned through this experience of engaging in the intimacies of Life, noting, "...the boy chooses safety; while the man chooses suffering". Our season on earth is like a crucible that turns our hair grey, wrinkles our skin, pains our joints, and slows us down to a virtual crawl. But every grey hair, wrinkle, and pain was well-earned; like a medal or badge that proclaims that you have been tested and matured in the fire, and the gold has become more pure as a result. BTW: another great line of Lewis, " I don't pray because it changes God. I pray because it changes me."  ----JACK:  Lewis's Screwtape Letters shows that he considered it a challenge to live out the "Christian" belief.  Perhaps that's why the book has appealed to so many.

 FROM WALMART REV:  I've picked up on a new definition of "really hurting"... hurting while being real! ====JACK:  I came across a thought this morning that seems to relate..."That's the thing about pain.  It demands to be felt."  (John Green)

 FROM RI IN BOSTON:  Maybe the converse is true too..."When it hurts, you know you're real."  There are quite a few statements about "pain" floating around, such as, "Pain is good because it feels so good when it stops."====JACK:  Repeating the quote that I sent to Walmart Rev...."That's the thing about pain.  It demands to be felt."  (John Green).  While pain is a pain, it also alerts us to problems that could result in even more pain...like going to the dentist.

 FROM EEC IN MICHIGAN:  I thought that was in the book the Velveteen Rabbit...====JACK:  You know your books!

 FROM PH IN MINNESOTA:  i thought that quote was from the Velvateen Rabbit.  perhaps i am wrong.  just fact checking.====JACK:  You're right.  BTW, Michigan's Velvet Peanut Butter was started in a family garage in 1937.  I don't know where the Velveteen Rabbit originated.

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Wasn't that in "The Velveteen Rabbit"?  Pain is real...very real.  To be human is to feel pain...any joy and happiness!====JACK:  You're the third person to provide that information.  I don't think that I ever read that book.  I was too busy doing other stuff.  Part of being human is to have feelings, pleasant and unpleasant.

 FROM BLAZING OAKS:  That's a quote from the Velveteen Rabbit book; a classic loved by my kids, grandkids, and "greats"!  Dr.  Brand and Philip Yancey wrote an excellent book entitled, "Pain: The gift nobody wants...Dr. Brand worked with Lepers who lost the capacity to feel pain, and suffered many injuries and disfigurements due to this.  It is well worth reading, and gives you a different perspective on the gift of pain.Life is not all roses, but it is certainly worth the trip!====JACK:  Am I the only one who hasn't read that the Velveteen Rabbit?  The Chicago White Sox used to have a shortstop, Luke Appling, whose nickname was "Old aches and pains."  He got that name, because he often played, even though injured, and didn't mind telling people how he was hurting.

 FROM BBC IN ILLINOIS:  Always loved that story and think of it from time to time. Thanks for the happy reminder.====JACK:  One of these days I'm going to the library and check it out.