The Dark
Candle
A man had a
little daughter, an only and much beloved child. He lived only for her, she was
his life. So when she became ill and her illness resisted the efforts of the
best obtainable physicians, he became like a man possessed, moving heaven and
earth to bring about her restoration to health.
His best
efforts proved fruitless, however, and the child died. The father was totally
irreconcilable. He became a bitter recluse, shutting himself away from his many
friends, refusing every activity that might restore his poise and bring him
back to his normal self.
Then one
night he had a dream. He was in heaven and witnessing a grand pageant of all
the little child angels. They were marching in an apparently endless line past
the Great White Throne. Every white-robed, angelic tot carried a candle. He
noticed, however, that one child’s candle was not lit. Then he saw that the
child with the dark candle was his own little girl. Rushing towards her, while
the pageant faltered, he seized her in his arms, caressed her tenderly, and
asked, “How is that your candle is the only one not lit?” “Father, they often
relight it, but your tears always put it out again,” she said.
Just then he
awoke from from his dream. The lesson was crystal clear, and it’s effects were
immediate. From that hour on he was no longer a recluse, but mingled freely and
cheerfully with his former friends and associates. No longer would his little
darling’s candle be extinguished by his useless tears.
Author
Unknown
