Jonathan CymbalHands
(A Children’s Story)
Jonathan was fearfully and wonderfully made by God. So, it was no surprise that Jonathan had two legs, two arms, and a very beautiful smile.
What was surprising was that God gave Jonathan two very large cymbals in place of his hands. He had also given his friend Henry a hammer and nails for his hands, and his friend Bonnie a basket for her arms.
As Jonathan grew, he learned to use his cymbal hands very well. He learned how to cut his food with his cymbal hands, for the sides were very sharp.
He learned to balance his cup between his cymbal hands so that he could drink.
And he learned to crash his cymbal hands together, for he loved to make music.
One day his father came to him and said, "Jonathan, your cymbal hands are a gift from God. It is time you go to town and see how you may use them."
The next day Jonathan went to town to find ways to use his cymbal hands. But when he tried to help Mrs. Harvey plant her petunias, he accidentally cut them to pieces with his sharp cymbal sides.
And when he waved at Mr. Jenkins as he rode his bike, the sun reflected off his cymbal hands and blinded Mr. Jenkins, which made him crash.
And when he went to the ball game to cheer on the team, he clapped so loudly the crashing sound of the cymbals annoyed the crowd.
The mayor came to Jonathan and said, "Jonathan, your cymbal hands are annoying everyone one in town. Please do not use them anymore. Perhaps you need a job to keep yourself busy."
Jonathan was heartbroken. He wanted to help and did not want to disappoint anyone. So, the next day he found a job holding a large clump of plaster for Mr. Wilkins, the drywall man. But the plaster tarnished Jonathan's beautiful cymbal hands.
Next, he took a job as a waiter. But the food slipped from his cymbal hands into the laps of the dinner guests, so Mr. Gambini said he couldn't work there anymore.
Finally, Mr. Cortez gave him a job as a window washer. He wrapped big towels all over Jonathan's cymbal hands so they would not scratch the glass.
As Jonathan washed the windows he had never been so sad. His hands were very dirty and were hidden by the big towels so completely that not even he could not see them. He knew his cymbal hands had not been made for this.
As he looked at his reflection in the window, all he wanted was to go home to his father.
The next day Jonathan and Henry and Bonnie were all sitting on a bench in the park. They were all very sad. Henry tried to find work using his wonderful hammer hands, but he could only find a job cracking walnuts. And Bonnie could only find work carrying bricks for Mr. Nelson, the bricklayer.
Then a man entered the park. He wore a brightly colored vest and a very tall hat. He was handing out pieces of paper that said a marching band was coming to town and everyone was invited. When the man saw Jonathan, Henry and Bonnie, he handed them one of his papers and noticed how gloomy they looked. "Why are you so gloomy? Don't you know the marching band is coming?"
Sadly, Jonathan told him the story of how God had given them each a special gift, but whenever they tried to use those gifts, it just made things worse. Curiously, the man asked Jonathan how he had used his cymbal hands, and Henry his hammer hands, and Bonnie her basket arms.
When Jonathan finished explaining all they had done, the man was aghast. "That is not how you use your special gifts!" he said. "Henry, your hands were made to build things. There is a new family in town, and they are very needy. Your hammer hands can be used to build them a house to live in."
"Bonnie, your basket arms were not made to carry bricks, but precious babies. The orphanage is always looking for someone to love and hold the babies."
Jonathan was excited. "What about me?"
"Let me look at those cymbal hands of yours," the man said. Jonathan showed him his cymbal hands, which made the man smile. "You are just the person we've been looking for. Our marching band is in need of a cymbal player, one who plays very loud!"
The next day the joyous marching band paraded through town. As the band passed by, Henry waved from the roof of the house he was helping to build, and Bonnie sat on the porch and smiled joyfully as she held a precious baby in her arms.
And Jonathan was the happiest of all as he marched in time with the band, crashing his cymbal hands loudly to the cheers of the town.
U.Art.Known
We all have gifts or special talents. I hear often of a mother or father remark about the special qualities or natural talents they recognize in their very small children, and I have seen their glow when they marvel and wonder at how those qualities or talents may be realized as their child grows. Many times, those talents are actualized. But for others, they are pushed to the background as the pursuit of life begins, relegating whatever talent they had to the land of distant memories.
It is the same in the church, your church... whatever church that might be. As you become a believer in Jesus, He has for each of you a gift. A gift that is yours and that is precious. But it is not a gift you should keep hidden or relegate to the land of distant memories, leaving you to think of what could have been. It is a gift that is meant to be shared with others and for your joy. For if those gifts are not employed, what benefit was there in the giving of the gift in the first place? As children are given natural talents and gifts for their benefit, so too the Lord gives gifts to His children to benefit the church, which is His body. We all suffer a little bit if you do not put those gifts to use just as He intended.