Sparkle the Bear :)

  If you know my little sister you have probably been introduced to her little bear that she has so eloquently named “Sparkle”.  Sparkle and Abigail met a few years back at an event that Community Bible Church (The church my family attends) was putting on for a children’s ministry called “Awana”.  It was Abigail’s first year to be in Awana.   The church was kicking off the beginning of the year with a carnival for the kids.  There was a wide assortment of different activities: face painting, bean bag tossing, polo ball, duck pond, cake walk and some others.  One of these games you had to randomly choose a sucker, if it had a black dot on the bottom you got a prize and if it didn’t you went away one piece of candy richer.  Now on this lucky day Abigail happened along and gave this game a shot.  Not only did she get a sucker, but she got one with a black dot on the bottom.  She was really excited and she picked this unique little bear out of the box of prizes and has since then kept it by her side whereever she goes. 

Originally, Sparkle was a a soft furred brown bear about 7-8 inches tall with shiny black eyes and a cute fabric nose. She had a patch on the bottom of one paw and to add a little “sparkle”, she had a little plastic pink heart sewn on the outside of her chest. She came with a tan and pink matching scarf and hat attached to her head and neck.   Since then, Sparkle has been lovenly “worn”.  The fur isn’t quiet as soft and fluffy and Sparkle’s hat and scarf lasted for about the first year.  Thanks to a friend from Awana last year she aquired a cute little sweatshirt with a big heart on it, which almost replaces the little pink heart which fell off, with promises from Mom that it could be glued on again.  Abigail’s favorite spot on her bear was the bottom of one paws.  She likes to rub it fondly against her cheeks, especially when tired because “it’s the softest spot on Sparkle and feels good against my cheek.”  Sparkle just recently acquired another patch on the bottom of this paw because it was worn through to the inside. As you can tell Abigail has been quite attached to this cute little bear.  No matter where she is or what she is doing she always brings her bear a long.  Even during school time, when she is supposed to leave it on her bed, she sneaks it up and snuggles with it, rubbing the bear’s paw against her cheek.  She is almost never with out her little Sparkle!  To me I find that cool little friend she has in Sparkle inspiring.

As I was thinking about this story, I was inspired. No matter where she goes or what she does she always makes sure she has Sparkle.  Whether she’s eating, playing, sleeping or hopping around on the floor she’s got Sparkle in her hand and a smile plastered on her face.   The saddness and worry that comes when Sparkle is lost, immediatly throws everyone into a search party and boy does that smile return quick when “Sparkle” is back in her arms.  Abigail is so content and happy with just having her little bear. It’s the “Sparkle” in her life   

So take a moment and put your feet in Abigail’s shoes if you can. And picture your relationship with Jesus like the love Abigail has for her bear….only way better. 

Does it look like this???

Never leaving the house with out him and going everywhere with Him, always thinking about Him during the day, constantly filled with the joy and confidence that comes from knowing and trusting Him. Using His blessings up every day and panicing when losing sight of Him.  Never ceasing to hold His hand and walk next to Him. Never being embarassed to be seen with Him.  Is He someone you can talk to when you are angry, happy, joyful, lonely or scared?  Is He your number one focus or is He more like those stuffed animals that are in a box somewhere lost in the attic nice looking but untouched and unloved?

I think Abigail’s story provides us a good lesson on what our attachment to Jesus should look like.  I recently finished “The Shack” by William P. Young and it was an amazing read! (I recommend it!) The book really shows how amazing the relationship we have with God can be.  One of the things that was brought to reality was that God doesn’t want us to put Him at the top of the pyramid in our life with everything else under it.  He doesn’t want us to prioritize everything with Him being at the top.  How much time spent with Him would be enough?  We could never spend enough time with God to justify the time we spend doing everything else.  God doesn’t want to be at the Top of things, He wants to be at the Center of everything.  The center of all we do and all that we are!  Isn’t that cool?   Not only can we spend private time with Him, we can share the whole day with Him and constantly let Him be apart of what we are doing.  Whether you’re doing school work, the laundry, your job or making your bed make sure you have “your little sparkle” and are including Jesus in everything you do.  Let Jesus be the little teddy bear you gladly carry around with you all the time just like Abigail does with her Sparkle.  Have the confidence and contentment that He brings.  Let Him dwell within your thoughts at all times.  Let Him be your focus and allow Him to be the joy in your heart…..the “sparkle” in your life!

Thanks to Abigail (Abby) for teaching her big brother something