The Wemmicks were small wooden people. These little wooden people
were carved by a woodworker named "Eli." Eli's workshop sat on a hill
overlooking the Wemmick Village. Every one of the Wemmicks were
different. Some had big noses, others had large eyes. Some were tall
and others were short. Some wore hats, others wore coats. But all
were made by the same carver and all lived in the same village.
All day long, every day, the Wemmicks did the same thing. They gave
each other stickers. Each Wemmick had a box of golden star stickers
and a box of dull gray dot stickers. Up and down the streets all over
the city, people could be seen sticking gold stars or gray dots onto
each other. The pretty ones, those with smooth wood and fine paint,
always got shiny gold stars! But if the wood was rough or the paint
was chipped, the Wemmicks gave dull gray dots. The talented ones got
stars, too. Some could lift big sticks high above their heads or jump
over tall boxes. Still others knew big words or could sing very
pretty songs. Everyone gave them shiny gold stars! Some Wemmicks had
stars all over them! Every time they got a star it made them feel so
good that they did something else and got another star.
There were many other Wemmicks though that could do very little. They
got dull gray dots! There was one little Wemmick and his name was
"Punchinello." He tried to jump high like the others, but he always
fell. And when he fell, the others would gather 'round and give him
dull gray dots. Sometimes when he fell, it would scar his wood, so
the people would give him more gray dots. He would try to explain why
he fell and, in doing so, he would say something really silly. Then
the Wemmicks would give him some more dots!!!
After a while, Punchinello had so many dots that he didn't want to go
outside. He was afraid he would do something dumb such as forget his
hat or step in the water, and then people would give him more dull
gray dots. In fact, he had so many gray dots that some people would
come up and just give him one without any reason! "He deserves lots
of dots," they would say. The wooden people would agree with one
another. "He's not a good wooden person," they would say. After a
while Punchinello believed them. "I am not a good Wemmick!" he would
say. The few times he went outside, he hung around other Wemmicks who
had a lot of gray dots. At least he felt better around them.
One day, Punchinello met a Wemmick who was unlike any he'd ever met.
She had no dull gray dots and did not have any shiny golden stars
either. She was a wooden Wemmick and her name was "Lucia." It wasn't
that people didn't try to give her stickers; it's just that the
stickers didn't stick to her!!! Some admired Lucia for having no
dots, so they would run up and give her a star. But it would fall
off. Some would look down on her for having no stars, so they would
give her a dot. But they would not stick either!!!
"That's the way I want to be!" thought Punchinello. "I don't want
anyone's marks!" So he asked the "stickerless" Wemmick how she did
it. "It's easy," Lucia replied. "Every day I go see Eli."
Punchinello asked,"Eli? Who is Eli?" She replied "Yes, Eli, He is
the woodcarver. I sit in His workshop and spend time with Him." He
asked Lucia,"Why do you do that?" Lucia told him, "Why don't you find
out for yourself? Go up the hill and visit with Him. He's there!"
And with that, the sweet little Wemmick named Lucia turned and skipped
away.
"But He won't want to see me!" Punchinello cried out to her. Lucia
didn't hear him, as she was too far away. So Punchinello went home.
He sat near a window and watched the wooden people as they scurried
around giving each other gold stars and gray dots. "It's just not
right," he muttered to himself. Then he resolved to go see Eli after
all. Punchinello walked up the narrow path to the top of the hill and
stepped into the big Woodcarver Shop. His little wooden eyes widened
at the size of everything. The stool was as tall as he was. He had
to stretch on his tippy-toes to see the top of the workbench. A
hammer was as long as his arm. Punchinello swallowed hard and thought
to himself, "I'm not staying here!" and he turned to leave. Then he
heard his name. "Punchinello?" said this voice, so deep and strong.
Just then Punchinello stopped. The voice said, "Punchinello, oh how
good it is of you to come! Let me have a look at you."
Punchinello slowly turned around and looked at the large bearded
craftsman and said, "Sir, you know my name?" "Of course I do. I made
you," Eli said. All of a sudden, Eli stooped down and picked little
Punchinello up and set him on the workbench. "Hmmmmm," the Maker
spoke thoughtfully as he inspected the gray circles all over him,
"Looks like you've been given some bad marks." Punchinello
explained,"Oh, Eli, I didn't mean to; really I didn't!!! I really
tried hard not to." The Maker said, "Oh, you don't have to defend
yourself to me, my child. I don't care what the other Wemmicks
think." Punchinello asked, "Really? You don't?" Then Eli said, "No
and you shouldn't either. Who are they to give stars or dots? They
are Wemmicks just like you. What they think really doesn't matter at
all, Punchinello. All that matters is what I think. And I think you
are pretty special." Punchinello laughed, "Oh, me special? How can I
be special? I can't walk fast. I can't jump. My paint is peeling.
I make silly mistakes all the time and I am not a beautiful Wemmick
like some of the others. How could I matter to you?" Eli looked at
Punchinello and put his hands on those little wooden shoulders of his
and spoke very slowly, "Because Punchinello... you are mine. That's
why you matter to me." Punchinello had never had anyone look at him
like this before or say anything so nice, much less his Maker! He
didn't know what to say!
"Punchinello, every day I've been waiting and hoping you would come to
see me," Eli explained. Punchinello looked up at him and said, "I
came because I met a sweet Wemmick girl who had no marks." Eli said,
"I know. Lucia told me about you." So Punchinello asked, "Why don't
the stickers stay on Lucia?" Eli said, "Because she has decided that
what I think is more important than what anyone else thinks. The
stickers only stick if you let them." Punchinello looked puzzled and
said, "What?" Eli said, "Yes, the stickers only stick if they matter
to you. The more you trust My love, the less you will care about
those stickers." But Punchinello said, "I'm not sure I really
understand. What you are saying?" The maker said, "You will, but it
will take some time. You've got a lot of marks. So for now, just
come to see me every day and let me remind you how much I care about
you." Eli lifted Punchinello off the bench and set him on the floor.
"Now remember," Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door. "You ARE
special because I made you, and I don't make mistakes."
Punchinello didn't stop, but in his heart he thought, "I think He
really means it." And each time he remembered what Eli told him and
each time he went to visit and talk with Eli, one of Punchinello's
dots would fall off. They kept falling off and soon they were all
gone!!!
So like Punchinello, we must remember one thing: "Man looks on the
outward appearance, but G-d looks on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7)
- Author Unknown
Sent in by a good ol' friend HopeAngel2