In his book, The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen states this:
For the minister is called to recognize the sufferings of his time in his own heart and make that recognition the starting point of his service. Whether he tries to enter into a dislocated world, relate to a convulsive generation, or speak to a dying man, his service will not be perceived as AUTHENTIC unless it comes from a heart wounded by the suffering about which he speaks. (emphasis mine)
Authenticity flows out of our pain. Authentic has been defined as, “genuine; entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement by experience.†Experience is the only way we become real to others.
In the children’s story, The Velveteen Rabbit, there is a conversation that takes place between two toys – a stuffed rabbit and the skin horse.
Rabbit asks the question, “What is REAL?â€
Skin Horse replies in his wisdom, “Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you.â€
Rabbit asks, “Does it hurt?â€
“Sometimesâ€, Skin Horse replies. For he was always truthful. “When you are Real, you don’t mind being hurt.â€
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up, or bit by bit?â€
“It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or who 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.
And that is so it. We want to be real, to be authentic. But somehow we want to do it without the pain, without the uncomfortable.
Yet it is through our own sufferings that we are then able to relate to others. Paul put it this way, “Praise be to the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles SO THAT we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God.†(2 Corinthians 1: 3-4 NIV)
Ann Voskamp writes…..â€Joy and Pain, they are but two arteries of our heart that pumps through all those who don’t numb themselves to really living.â€
It is as we experience joy and pain that we find ourselves truly alive. Christ comforts us so that we are able to bring comfort and relief to others that are suffering. May we keep our hearts soft and feeling at all times, so we do not become numb to life and those around us. It is better to cry and thus be able to experience the joy of life together than to miss it all.
Today may I be willing to be Real. May I be willing to let the painful things in life shape and grow authenticity in me. For it is then, that I will find, just like the Velveteen Rabbit ….
“…once you are Real, you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.â€
(Excerpts taken from “The Velveteen Rabbit†by Margery Williams)
This is a revised version of an earlier post.
Today I am joining … Thought Provoking Thursday and Grace Moments .
Oh my — I LOVE the quotes from the Velveteen Rabbit. Beautiful. This is well written and so needed. The world is looking for someone — anyone — to be authentic and real. I beleive that when we are those things, we display to others that the Lord is real, authentic and can be trusted. Great post. Visting you today from Journeys in Grace. xo
Laura, I love the truth which you brought out. As we are real, we point others to our Lord who is authentic and can be trusted.
Joanne, I love this. A beautiful analogy from one of my favorite stories. I want to be authentic and I’ll admit I haven’t liked the hard parts so far, but I trust that if God chooses to allow something hard He will use it for His plans and purposes. Praying to be surrendered and authentic. Blessings to you! It was a pleasure to share this on my FB page this morning!
Deb, thank you for sharing the post. I do not think we ever like the hard parts while we are in the middle of it all. But there have been many times I have said, “I would go through it all over again for the gain and growth which it brought.” It is always wonderful to join you!
I’ve always loved The Velveteen Rabbit. This is a great analogy to make your point: “We want to be real, to be authentic. But somehow we want to do it without the pain, without the uncomfortable.”
Ah, we love our comfort! As someone who has worked with church members for 20 years, I see it so plainly. We want church to be comfortable for US when sometimes it needs to change so that others will come too …
Love your thoughts today. I want to be real, too. May God help me!
Thank you so much for encouraging me. May I be willing to embrace that discomfort is sometimes the best agent of change. Have a great holiday weekend.
Being real can indeed be painful. 🙁 But oh so worth it. I love The Velveteen Rabbit and always come away with useful lessons from it like this one. Thanks, Joanne.
Lisa, The Velveteen Rabbit is probably one of my favorites. I so enjoyed reading it to our children. Yes, being real is worth it all. Blessings!
What a beautiful point, Joanne. And something so timely for me. Thank you for sharing these challenging words.
Our life is full of challenges. If we are living in a good time then hard time will definitely come in our life. Never give up!
~Dr. Diana
Authentically real.. choosing to see others as the same, it is such a blessed gift to give and to receive. I love the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, Joanne and I love that you used that as an lesson to build these thoughts upon.
Thanks for sharing this at #GraceMoments Link up!
Blessings,
Dawn
Dawn,
The Velveteen Rabbit remains my favorite children’s story. My desire is to live authentically and that in so doing, others may be pointed to Christ.
I enjoy joining the linkup each week. May God continue to grow and use it for His purposes!
Blessings,
Joanne