Take the risk. It's worth it.
Most of us are familiar with The Velveteen Rabbit, the children's classic by Margery Williams. Perhaps you first heard the story about the velvety bunny while sitting on your mother's lap, or just before getting tucked in with bedtime kisses and good-night hugs.
The story begins on Christmas morning. The Velveteen Rabbit, plush and new, is stuffed inside a Boy's Christmas stocking. The Boy is delighted with his new bunny, and loves him for all of two hours before getting side-tracked by other new toys and gifts. Out of the bright paper wrappings, shiny toys with bells and whistles and fancy clockwork appear. In the holiday excitement, the little Rabbit is set aside on a shelf in the Boy's playroom.
At night, when nursery magic happens, the toys begin to move and talk. Although some of the more expensive toys in the nursery snub the Rabbit, the old and wise Skin Horse is kind to him. One day the Rabbit asks his friend, "What is Real?" The wizened overseer of the nursery, who has seen fads come and go, knows of such mysterious things.
"Real isn't how you are made," replies the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
The Rabbit asks if it hurts to become Real. "Sometimes," the Skin Horse answers, since he is always truthful. He goes on to explain that becoming Real doesn't often happen to those who break easily or have sharp edges or have to be carefully kept. Bit by bit, the Skin Horse has learned to rest in the transforming love of his master, knowing this is what he was made for.
As women, we will have a myriad of experiences--some pleasant and some painful--as we journey toward Real, to that place of comfortable authenticity with God, with ourselves, and with others. There will be fragile moments of crisis when we feel as though we might break easily, other times when our perfectionism demands we remain "carefully kept." Times when we feel afraid to ask questions, intimidated, confused, or even put on a shelf, forgotten. Through it all, we long to be known, to be loved, to become more Real, but we'd prefer it not take a long time or hurt too much.
The Velveteen Woman is about how the transforming power of God's unconditional love makes us Real. It's a simple story. Just as the little Rabbit became worn and dirty, so do our lives become scarred and stained as we hop--or stumble--down life's varied paths.
But there's hope. Bit by bit, day by day, we can begin to see more of God's pure love for us. To see that His love is unconditional, not based on our outward appearance, our successes or our failures. Though God does not guarantee that all will go well in this life, He does promise to love us always, to comfort us when we're hurt, and hold us close to His heart. He will even redeem our pain, using it to move us toward what Jesus called "The Kingdom of God", or what Margery Williams' timeless classic suggests is the realm of "Real."
Do you yearn to be fully alive, to be known and loved as you truly are? I share your heart's cry. I've had lots of fake "velveteen" fur rubbed off by life, and wandered down many a rabbit trail in search of ultimate love. Now, though I'm a whole lot shabbier and "looser in the joints," I'm finding, bit by bit, deep joy and fulfillment in a more relaxed life with God.
So this book is an invitation from one shabby sojourner to another. An invitation to join me in the arms of our Father's amazing love. To discover what we were made for.
For me, the journey began with a desperate cry. At the time, I wasn't even sure God really existed. It was the first time I ever wondered, What is Real?
