 
The Wemmick Story
© Max Lucado
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: "Humans look on the
outward appearance, but God looks on the heart." (I Samuel 16:7)
 
Marilyn's Hideaway ~
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Children ~
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Domestic Violence ~
Good Old Days ~
Holidays
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Women ~
Norma Marek's Poetry
22 June 2003.
The painting used in this set is called
"Once Upon A Time" by Chantal Poulin©.
Sometimes you just can't come up with a better title than the artist's original!
Artwork used with permission:
Copyright of Lil Kitty, 2000-2005.
Made with Love April 30, 2005
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