Getting the Pieces Right

          A father wanted to read a magazine, but was being pestered by his daughter.  To keep her busy, he tore a sheet out of the magazine that had a picture of the world printed on it.  He tore the picture into small pieces and said "Here, now go into the other room and see if you can put this picture of the world back together again."
A few minutes went by and the daughter appeared in the room and handed him the picture all correctly fitted together.
          The father was surprised and asked her how she was able to fit all those little pieces of the world back together again so quickly.
          "Oh." she said, "On the other side of the paper was a picture of Jesus and once I got Jesus in the right place, then the world came out alright."

The Parable of the Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.  There are 5 things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world.  Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand.
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.
Three: You will be able to correct mistakes you will make.
Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.
And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark.  No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now - replace the pencil with you – do you have the purpose in your heart?