A man and wife who are both fanciers of antiques, pottery and china enter a little china shop in Sussex, England. Their eyes single out a little teacup on the top shelf.
“May I see that?” he asked. “I’ve never seen a teacup like it. Its beautiful!”
But suddenly the teacup spoke! “You don’t understand…I haven’t always been a teacup. There was a time that I was red…and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me…and patted me over…and over…and over. I yelled out, ‘Let me alone!’ But he only smiled and said: ‘Not yet.'”
“Then I was placed on a spinning wheel,” the teacup said. “Suddenly I was spun around…and around…and around. ‘Stop it…I’m getting dizzy!’ I screamed.”
“The master only nodded and said: ‘Not yet.'”
“Then he put me in an oven…I’ve never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me…and I yelled…and I knocked on the door. I could see him through the opening…and I could read his lips as he shook his head: ‘Not yet.'”
“Finally the door did open…whew! He put me up on the shelf…and I began to cool. ‘There…that’s better, I said.'”
“Then suddenly he brushed me…and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible…and I thought I would gag: ‘Stop it…stop it!’ I cried. He only nodded: ‘Not yet.'”
“Then suddenly he put me back into an oven…not the first one…but one twice as hot. I knew I would suffocate. I begged…I pleaded…I screamed…I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening…nodding his head and saying: ‘Not yet.'”
“Then I knew there was no hope…and I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened…and he took me out…and he placed me on a shelf. One hour later…he handed me a mirror and said: ‘Look at yourself.'”
“And I did…and I said: ‘That’s not me…it couldn’t be me! I’m beautiful!'”
“‘I want you to remember’, he then said, ‘I know it hurt to be rolled and patted…but if I had left you…you would have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin you around on the wheel…but if I had stopped…you would have crumbled. I know it hurt…and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven…but if I hadn’t put you there…you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed you…and painted you all over, but you see…if I hadn’t done that…you would never have hardened. There would have been no color to your life. And if I hadn’t put you back in the second oven…you would not have survived for very long…and the hardness would not have held. Now you’re a finished product…. You’re what I had in mind when I first began with you!'”

Source: Ben Haden, Changed Lives (Chattanooga, Tennessee: Ben Haden Evangelical Association, Inc., 1973), pp. 15-16.

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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A PARABLE

A poorly dressed woman approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries.

She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food. John Longhouse, the grocer scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store.

Visualizing the family needs, she said: ‘Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.”

John told her he could not give her credit, as she did not have a charge account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family.

The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, “Do you have a grocery list?

Louise replied, “Yes sir”

“O.K.” he said, “put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.”

Louise, hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed.

The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down.

The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, “I can’t believe it.”

The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.

The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement.

It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
“Dear Lord, you know my Needs and I am leaving this in your hands”.

The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence. Louise thanked him and left the store.

The customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said,
“It was worth every penny of it.”

Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.

Source unknown

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

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When the good Lord was creating fathers, He started with a tall frame. And a female angel nearby said, “What kind of father is that? If you’re going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won’t be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping.”

And God smiled and said, “Yes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?”

And when God made a father’s hands, they were large and sinewy.

And the angel shook her head sadly and said, “Do You know what You’re doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can’t manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats.”

God smiled and said, “I know, but they’re large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day…yet small enough to cup a child’s face.”

Then God molded long, slim legs and broad shoulders.

The angel nearly had a heart attack. “Boy, this is the end of the week, all right,” she clucked. “Do You realize You just made a father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?”

God smiled and said, “A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle or hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus.”

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had ever seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. “That’s not fair. Do You honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?”

And God smiled and said, “They’ll work. You’ll see. They’ll support a small child who wants to “ride a horse to Banbury Cross” or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill.”

God worked throughout the night, giving the father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that see everything, but remain calm and tolerant.

Finally, almost as an afterthought, He added tears. Then He turned to the angel and said, “Now are you satisfied that he can love as much as a mother?”

And the angel shutteth up!

Author: By Erma Bombeck

Holiday Collection

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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