Bent Sunbeams

A boy, who lived in a dark slum in London, was very ill. A lady visitor often kindly went to see him, and took little gifts. On the occasion of one of her visits the boy said to her: "I do wish that a beam of sunshine would come into this room." The window of his room looked out on the other dismal houses opposite, and the street
being a very narrow one, these houses were very near, and the sun never shone into his room. The lady wished that she could have the boy removed to a brighter room where the sun would shine in, but this was impossible.

Later, the lady was telling a friend the boy's wish, and her friend's little son heard the conversation, and said, "Why not bend a sunbeam?" "Impossible," replied the lady; "why, clever scientists could not do that. No one can." "May I try," said the boy. "Yes, you can try; but I know such a thing is quite impossible."

Some days later the lady again visited the invalid, when the boy suddenly cried out excitedly: "Look, look, there is a sunbeam dancing up and down the wall." The lady looked and was astonished to see a beam of light, just as the boy had said, dancing up and down the wall opposite to her. The invalid was more than delighted, and seemed almost at once to become brighter and better.

On leaving the house, the visitor met her friend's son, who laughingly said: "Did you see the sunbeam?" and the lady had to confess that she had, and also felt compelled to say how much joy and pleasure it had given the invalid. "Well," said her young friend, "I bent it so that it would shine into his room." "How on earth did you do it?" was the quick reply. "I found a mirror, and then went to the house next door, and climbed out of the window on to the parapet, and so held the mirror that it reflected the sunbeams into that poor boy's room. I bent the sunbeam."

Love is light, and I wonder if you have tried to so reflect the light, the love of Jesus, that it has brought joy and help to others. Christ so loved us that He died for us that we may have the light that He alone can give, and so that at last we may go to Heaven, where there is glorious and never-ending light—where all is light. Let us pray that God will help us so to live that we may be reflectors, mirrors, of His love.