It is county fair time in my area. The smell of corndogs, the sweet taste of cotton candy, the lights, and the music of the rides. No one loves the fair more than kids.
     A favorite game for small children is the pick a duck game. You walk up to the game counter, pay your money and watch the plastic ducks float by on the troth filled with water. When you see the duck that you think will win the biggest prize you pick it up, being sure to get your fingers wet. You hand the duck to the man behind the counter. He looks at the number on the bottom and gives you your prize.
     Remember school day at the fair? There was no school that day and the fair offered discounted admission and tickets for rides. I often think about the time my sister and I took the kids we were babysitting to the fair. As expected, they were excited wanting to do everything at once.
     One of the little boys especially loved the pick a duck game and was so happy when it was his turn. He picked up his duck and handed to the man and waited with great anticipation. The man threw his prize on the counter and said “You won a snake.”
     Now, what he threw on the counter, looked very little like a snake. It was about ten to twelve inches at the most, very straight and unbendable. The head was flat, with no forked tongue. It didn’t do anything that a snake was supposed to do. It didn’t coil, slither, stick out its forked tongue and it certainly didn’t hiss. I remember in that split second, thinking we were going to have one very upset little boy. I dreaded looking down at him because I didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.
     I took a deep breath and looked down. He picked his snake up off the counter and when our eyes met he was beaming. Why? Because that snake, that didn’t look or act like a snake was HIS prize. It belonged to him. and he loved it. He spent the next few minutes taking his hand and making it slither in the air and making hissing sounds. He was proud of his prize because it belong to him and in his hands it was what it was supposed to be.
     We don’t always look or act like we are supposed to. Do we? In those times, God still loves us because we are his prize. In his hands, we have a purpose and can be what we are supposed to be. He sees our potential and knows that he can help us fulfill that potential. We are valuable. He looks at us and sees something precious. Look in his eyes, my friend. Do you see it? He is beaming over you.

“And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands.” (Deuteronomy 26:18) (NIV)