The Faith Healer

There was a boy who was very friendly. He said hello to everyone he met and gave the gift of a smile.

One day, an old man was walking past the boy's yard. The man looked tired and asked the boy if he could rest on his front steps.

Knowing he was not allowed to talk to strangers, the boy excused himself and went to fetch his mother.

The mother brought him some milk and fresh bread.

The man told them of how he had once been very poor but that he had become rich when given a special gift of a candle.

"When the candle is lit," he said. "Your hopes are answered."

This seemed strange because the man was not dressed in fancy clothes and he was walking instead of driving a fancy car.

When the man was rested he thanked the boy and his mother and went on with his walk.

A few days later the boy found a small box on the steps. It had a card that said, "Light me, believe and you will have all you need."

He took the box to his mother. Inside they found a beautiful glass ball, the size of a baseball. It was clear glass with red stripes flowing down it from top to bottom. It was filled with oil and had a wick. It was a glass oil candle.

"Shall we light it," his mother asked.

The boy said yes.

The boy's mother asked, "What will you hope for?"

Since they had been very poor, they had very little furniture. The boy did not have a bed, only a mattress to sleep on.

"I would hope we get some furniture soon," he said.

The candle was lit.

Every day the boy lit the candle with his mother. They sat together staring at the beautiful little flame.

A week went by and nothing happened. Still they lit the candle.

Then one day a woman knocked at the door. "Hello, I am your new neighbor," she said. "We just moved in down the way and our house came with a lot of extra furniture. I was wondering if you could use some beds?"

The next day a man knocked at the door. "Hello," he said. "I was just having a garage sale and there is a lot of furniture leftover. I am going around to the neighbors to see who would like a table and some chairs."

So it went for nearly a month, strangers of all kinds stopped at the little house bringing things.

One afternoon the old man stopped by the house and waved to the boy.

"It's amazing," said the boy. "But we have too much now. How do we turn it off?"

The man laughed and laughed. "I am sorry my child," he said. "It was your faith that brought about the giving miracle and you don't want to shut that off. Share your new wealth and your faith and all will be well."

So the boy and his mother set about sharing their new possessions with their neighbors. They told of how their believing had brought about the Giving Miracle.

Unfortunately, one night a burglar who had heard of the candle broke into the little house and stole the candle away. In the morning the mother saw that the candle was stolen, and began to cry. The boy too began to cry.

There was a knock at the door. It was the old man. "Why are you crying," he asked the boy.

"Because the wonderful candle has been stolen away," he sobbed. "Now we cannot make anymore wishes and we can not help our neighbors."

"Only the glass and oil were stolen," he explained. "Those things cannot give or receive. It was your faith that brought your good fortune and it was your kind heart that helped you to give to your neighbors."

He added, "Believing is a strange thing. You can throw your faith away, but it can never be taken from you if you are not willing to let it go."

As he turned to go the boy cried out, "What is your name?"

"People call me the Faith Healer. That seems to do," he said and walked away down the road to another little house in the distance.

If you're interested, there is more information about:
The most important event of all time and
The most important Book of all time.

email this message to a friend   |   DW Home

Contributed by Lisa Suhay (Copyright (c) Lisa Suhay) Lisa Suhay is a freelance writer who lives in Medford, New Jersey. Her work appears regularly in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Newark Star-Ledger.