ponder | the velveteen rabbit

"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.

so, i have been moving through the children's books in the last couple of weeks. you gotta do something to stay alert during nighttime feeding sessions. and the other night, i picked up our copy of the velveteen rabbit. as i was reading to ridley and flipping the pages, that passage above struck me. isn't that beautiful? and isn't that what life is about? becoming.

life is a process of becoming. becoming more, better, smarter, wiser, stronger, softer, kinder. becoming more like Christ and more of who God created you to be. becoming REAL. moving away from insecurity and immaturity. becoming more authentic and honest and open and relatable and true. building a testimony of faith. and this lifelong process often means some hair being worn off and your eyes dropping out and loose joints and even, a shabby appearance. but that is what makes you real. makes you relatable. makes you lovable.

i hope that as i go through life, God will round the rough edges, soften my hard parts, and "love off" that which is unnecessary in order to expose a deeper beauty. i want to be someone who is always becoming. who is real.