A Girl and her Papa

I woke up writing a story this morning, and I wanted to share it with you. Once there was a little girl whose legs were badly burned in a fire. The smoke had also dimmed her vision. Her father, the town doctor, rescued her from the fire. He immediately put her into a cool bath. "It hurts, papa! How badly it hurts!" "I know, my dear child, but we must cool the burning." he said, as he held her. Gently he raised her from the bath, and laid her in her little bed. He assessed her wounds, which were severe, but curable with the proper care. He gently rubbed to remove the damaged skin. "Papa!" She exclaimed, "why must you hurt me so?!" "My darling, I would never hurt you without reason, but we must remove the old and the dead so that the new can grow." He gently applied a salve to her wounds, which gave her some relief. He also applied a sort of salve to her heart by letting her know God would never leave her or forsake her, as well as other encouragement from the Bible. "Papa, what about my eyes?" "My sweet daughter, right now you only see dimly, but in time, I believe you will see clearly again. For now, listen intently, and I believe you will hear more beautiful sounds than you have ever heard before." Day after day, the painful treatments continued, but the salve was bringing its healing both to her legs and her heart. One day, the little girl could hear sawing and hammering. She asked her papa what was happening. "I'm fashioning you a little chair with which we may go out walking." "Oh, Papa, how delightful, but I'm still unable to see clearly." "You will be able to see in other ways, with your ears, your nose, and your heart." The first time, they ventured forth, and she found this to be true. She could envision the roses in the hedge by their beautiful scent, she learned to identify birds by their songs, and many of the neighbors began, as her father had, to put healing salve on her heart. Each evening, as her dressings were removed, she would cry out in pain, asking again why it had to be. With tears in his eyes, her papa explained, "Pain is a part of healing. If you did not feel the pain, you would probably lose your legs." Gradually, new skin began to grow. The salve that was being applied to her heart was also growing in her a deep love for her papa, and a deep compassion for others. Eventually, her papa made for her a little pair of crutches, with which, she could walk on her own, and her eyes became clearer. If she heard of a child in the village who was sick or in pain, she would go to them with the healing salve from her papa, and from her Father in heaven. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5.