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Why Is It So Hard To Let Go?

10/1/2013

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them, a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please?" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.


On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere - Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess - the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite." "That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you" And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

Life is often waiting for us to give up the cheap things so that we can be ready for the beautiful treasures. Are you holding onto things that you should let go? Are you holding on to relationships, habits and activities to which you have come so attached that it seems impossible to let go? Sometimes it is so hard to see what is in the other hand.

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 4 (2006).


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Tapestry

9/2/2013

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
A missionary was traveling in the Far East when he came across a booth in a market place. It was a tapestry maker’s booth. As he walked by he saw a strange sight. A man was standing in the booth shouting at his loom on the other side of the booth. As he shouted threads appeared in the tapestry almost by magic. The missionary asked his guide for an explanation.

"The man you see," said the guide, "is a master weaver. He is speaking to his apprentice behind the loom telling him what color thread to use and where to put it. Only the weaver knows the entire design, so it is vital that the apprentice do exactly as the master commands."

"Does the apprentice ever make a mistake?" asked the missionary.

"Of course. But the weaver is a very kind man in this case and he will rarely have the boy take out the thread. Instead, being a great artist, he simply works the mistake into the design."

How much that is like God. We cannot see the pattern of the tapestry God is weaving. We are on the other side of the loom looking at knotted threads placed seemingly without purpose. Occasionally we can catch a glimpse of the design, but then as soon as we think we have it pegged the master calls for a thread which changes every thing. So, we have to trust the master weaver that he knows what he is doing.

And like the apprentice, we, too make our mistakes. We put in a red thread instead of a violet one. We knot it in the wrong place or place it crookedly. And God in his mercy doesn’t upbraid us but takes our own mistakes and make them part of the design.

Reprinted from Grace Drops, Volume 4 (2006).


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The Story of the Little Grape Stem

5/21/2013

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Picture© Patty Fitts. All Rights Reserved.
Once upon a time there was a little grape stem. This stem was so glad to be alive. She drank water and minerals from the soil and grew and grew. She was young and strong and could manage quite well ... all by herself.

But then, the wind was cruel, the rain was harsh, the snow was not one bit understanding, and the little grape stem suffered. She drooped, weak and suffering. It would be so easy to stop trying to grow, to stop trying to live. The winter was long, and the stem was weary.

But then the little grape stem heard a voice. It was another grape stem calling out to her ... "Here, reach out ... hang on to me." But the stem hesitated.

"What would this mean?" she thought. For you see, the little stem had always managed quite well ... all by herself.

But then, ever so cautiously, she reached out towards the other grape stem. "See, I can help you," it said. "Just wind your tendrils about me and I will help you lift your head." And the little stem trusted ... and suddenly she could stand straight again.

The wind came ... and the rain ... and the snow, but when it came, the little grape stem was clinging to many other stems. And although the stems were swayed by the wind and frozen by the snow, they stood strongly united to each other. And in their united strength ... they could smile and grow.

And then, one day the little grape stem looked down and saw a tiny stem, swaying, frightened. And our little grape stem said, "Here, hang on ... I will help you." And the other stem reached up to our grape stem, and together all the stems grew.

Leaves budded ... flowers bloomed ... and finally, grapes formed. And the grapes fed many.

This is why we call ourselves a "team."


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    Author

    John Fitts is a retired hospital chaplain and a contributor & publisher of Grace Drops. John lives in Palm Harbor, Florida with his artist wife, Patty. 
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