Page 8 - Good News December 2012 paper
P. 8

Continued from p. 1               In the meantime, the shopkeeper's wife had
                      Continued from p. 1
          As  Bobby  waited,  he  looked  at  the       come to the front and asked, "Who were
          beautiful flowers and even though he was      you talking to back there and where are the
          a boy, he could see why mothers and girls     roses you were fixing?"
          liked flowers.                                Staring out the window, and blinking the
          The sound of the door closing as the last     tears from his eyes, he replied, "A strange
          customer left, jolted Bobby back to reality.   thing happened to me this morning. While I
          All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel    was setting up things to open the shop, I
          forlorn and afraid.                           thought  I  heard  a  voice  telling  me  to  set
          Suddenly the shop owner came out and          aside a dozen of my best roses for a special
          moved  to  the  counter.  There,  before      gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had
          Bobby's  eyes,  lay  twelve  long-stem,  red   lost my mind or what, but I set them aside
          roses, with leaves of green and tiny white    anyway.
          flowers all tied together with a big silver   "Just a few minutes ago, a little boy came
          bow.  Bobby's  heart  sank  as  the  owner    into the shop and wanted to buy a flower for
          picked  them  up  and  placed  them  gently   his mother with one small dime.
          into a long white box.                        "When I looked at him, I saw myself, many
          "That will be ten cents young man," the       years  ago.  I  too  was  a  poor  boy  with
          shop owner said reaching out his hand for     nothing to buy my mother a Christmas gift.
          the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to     A  bearded  man,  whom  I  never  knew,
          give the man his dime. Could this be true?    stopped me in the street and told me that he
          No one else would give him a thing for his    wanted to give me ten dollars.
          dime!  Sensing  the  boy's  reluctance,  the   "When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew
          shop  owner  added,  "I  just  happened  to   whose Voice that was, and I put together a
          have 20 some roses on sale for ten cents a    dozen of my very best roses."
          dozen. Would you like them?"                  The shop owner and his wife hugged each
          This  time  Bobby  did  not  hesitate,  and   other tightly, and as they stepped out into
          when the man placed the long box into his     the bitter cold air, they somehow didn't feel
          hands, he knew it was true. Walking out the   cold at all!
          door, he heard the shopkeeper say, "Merry     http://www.all-creatures.org/
          Christmas, son."                              stories/xmasstory.html

                 ierdie  bly  vir  my  een  van  die    mens uitstyg en
                 besondere  stories  rondom  Michel-    hom  tot  groot
          Hangelo. Blykbaar is die marmer wat           hoogtes in staat
          vir sy Dawid-beeld gebruik is, deur verskeie   stel.
          kunstenaars  weggewys  omdat  dit  byna       In my eie lewe is
          onmoontlik was om die marmer te verwerk.      ek  al  dikwels
          Selfs Leonardo da Vinci het dit weggewys      deur  my  eie
          en gemeen dat dit nie regtig bruikbaar was    gebrokenheid
          om 'n menslike figuur te skep nie. Dit was    oorweldig.
          ook 'n besonder duur stuk marmer.             Daarom  gee
          Is  dit  nie  maar  wat  met  ons  ook  op    stories soos dié
          geestelike gebied gebeur nie? Ons is eintlik   van Michelangelo vir my hoop. Ek weet net
          ook  maar  onbewerkbare  materiaal  wat  in   dat  as  dit  van  my  afgehang  het,  ek  nooit
          die  hande  van  'n  genadige  God  (wat  ten   besondere hoogtes sou kon bereik nie.
          duurste  vir  die  “marmer”  betaal  het),    Ek besef dat die hoogtes nie impliseer dat
          omskep word in 'n meesterstuk tot Sy eer.     ek wêreldberoemd moet word nie, maar dat
          Die skoonheid van die beeld lê juis in die    ek 'n verskil maak net daar waar God my met
          gebrokenheid  van  die  materiaal.  Ons       my  besondere  gawes  geplaas  het.  Soos
          skoonheid is nie in ons besondere gawes       sovele kere al genoem, is dit dikwels om 'n
          en talente opgesluit nie, maar veel eerder in   verskil  in  net  één  mens  se  lewe  te  maak.
          ons  gebrokenheid  waardeur  'n  lewende      Want onthou, die één verlore skaap is vir die
          God werk.                                     Here baie belangrik!
          Aan die einde van Michelangelo se lewe het    “The more the marble wastes, the more the
          hy so gebewe dat hy hom tot die digkuns       statue grows.”
          gewend het en ook op hierdie vlak beson-      Hoe moeilik ook al, ek moet glo dat God op
          dere  werk  gelewer  het.  Hy  het  egter  baie   ‘n besondere manier besig is om die dele
          hiervan verbrand aangesien hy nie wou hê      wat nie werk nie, weg te kap sodat Hý meer
          dat mense sien hoe hy sukkel voordat hy by    sigbaar word!
          die eindproduk gekom het nie.                 [Uit: Shrink-stories, Eugene Kemp, Naledi,
          Hy is nooit getroud nie, maar 'n baie goeie   2009].
          vriendin,  Vittoria,  is  in  1547  dood  en  het
          hom eensamer as ooit agtergelaat. Hy het
          in 1564 op 89-jarige ouderdom gesterf en
          tot die einde nog meesterwerke gelewer.
          Hy was bekend as 'n disfunksionele mens,
          en ek word net so bewus van die genadige
          God wat bokant die gebrokenheid van die
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