The Parable of the Skipping Stones
Theme: Using your gifts/talents, Related to: Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 19:11-27)
Once a grandmother and her granddaughter were walking along the beach…
…picking up shells, squeezing wet sand between their toes, and skipping stones across the surface of the water.
Suddenly, the little girl looked up and asked, “Grandma, how do I know when I have good skipping stone?”
“Well, you can kind of tell by the shape of the stone?” Grandma answered as she pointed at a flat stone.
This satisfied the little girl for a while and they continued on up the beach picking up shells, squeezing wet sand between their toes, and skipping stones across the surface of the water.
But then, the little girl looked up again and asked, “Grandma, how can you tell when you have a great skipping stone?”
“Well, you can kind of tell by how well the stone fits in your hand,” Grandma said as she demonstrated a good fit.
This satisfied the little girl for a while and they continued on up the beach picking up shells, squeezing wet sand between their toes, and skipping stones across the surface of the water.
But eventually, the little girl looked up again and asked, “Grandma, how can you tell when you have the greatest skipping stone?”
“Well, you have to throw it,” said Grandma. “You have to give it away and then you’ll know.”
“But Grandma! If I throw it, then I won’t have it anymore,” complained the little girl.
“Exactly!” said Grandma.
(Notice how the oral version is slightly different than the written version. That is the nature of oral storytelling.)