One day Jesus was walking along the road of life. As he was walking he came upon an old fan. It was very dirty and a little torn, but Jesus picked it up and said, "There you are. You are just what I was looking for."
He took the fan home with him carrying it gently because it was very worn. When the angels saw the dirty thing they said, "Lord, what use is that. Here, we can find you a nice new fan, one that is clean and strong."
"No," Jesus said smiling, "This is just what I want."
Jesus took the fan with him everywhere. At first it was so worn that he could just use it to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun. Every so often it would tear a little and Jesus would mend it with shining thread. As the pieces of ivory that held the fan together broke, Jesus replaced them with new strong ivory.
Soon the fan was strong enough to gently cool him on very hot days. It looked a little odd with some of the old fabric mixed with the new, and some of the brittle brown ivory next to the strong white ivory.
The angels would look at it and say, "Are you sure you want to carry that old thing around?"
And Jesus would smile and say, "This is just what I want."
As time went on the fan became stronger and cleaner and more beautiful with each mending. Not only did it cool him and shield his eyes, he could also use it in battle. No fiery dart could pierce it.
One day the angels saw Jesus proudly walking with a bright shining fan. They said, "Lord, you have finally gotten rid of that old fan and gotten a new one."
But Jesus just smiled and said, "No, this is the one that I always wanted. With my own hands I have replaced each piece of old ivory with new strong ivory so I know it will hold. And with my own hands I have mended each tear with shining thread so I know that each stitch will hold. Now I am confident that it will be a tool that I can use and rely on."
Finally the angels understood and they rejoiced with Jesus as they admired His radiant fan.
copyright 5/10/07 Lisa Persson
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