But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.-Luke 18:16

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Brook.

Brook was a happy little girl.

She liked school.

She had a wonderful family.

She had nice friends.

...and she just got a brand new bike!

Brook loved her new bike.

It was pink with a white seat.

It had pink and white ribbons on the handlebars.

It even had a horn that went HONK, HONK!

Brook would ride her bike every day.

Sometimes she would even ride it outside in the rain.

She loved it so much!

Brook would often go down to the park with her grandma.

At the park there were many little girls her age.

They all thought what a beautiful bike she had.

It seemed that she made more friends because of her bike.

At the park Brook would often see a little girl her age playing alone.

Brook noticed her there every day, but was much to busy to go see her.

So, day after day, Brook would be riding her bike in the park,

...and she was always very happy.

Now, Brook was told to always put her bike away when she was done riding.

This was not a difficult thing to do,

But for a little girl who was always busy,

She sometimes forgot.

Her family would often put the bike away for Brook,

And politely remind her that she had forgotten again.

One sunny day, Brook was riding around the house, having a great time.

Her ribbons were blowing in the wind,

The HONK, HONK sound of her horn blowing.

Everything was very good.

It started to get dark out.

Brook was called in for supper.

She put her bike down and ran inside.

Brook ate her dinner and was getting ready for bed.

Now Brook’s father had just received a phone call.

There was a problem at work and he had to leave immediately.

Brook’s father left right away and got in his truck.

As he was backing up the truck to turn around………

There was a awful crunching sound under the truck.

Brook’s father got out of the truck to see his daughter’s bike bent and broken under the truck.

"Oh no!" he thought.

He did not have time to do anything except pull the broken bike out from under the truck and go to work.

Brook’s father worked all night.

The next morning he was still sleeping when Brook got up.

As she did every day, Brook ran outside to ride her bike.

When she went outside, her mouth dropped open.

She could not believe what she was looking at.

Her beautiful bike lay on the side of the driveway.

It was bent and twisted in all directions.

She could still see her pink and white ribbons.

She could still see her white seat,

But the rest of the bike was totally ruined.

Her eyes filled up with tears.

She ran into the house crying and screaming.

"My bike, my bike, its smashed!" she sobbed.

Now everybody in the house woke up.

Brook’s father went over to his daughter and hugged her.

"Oh Brook, I am so sorry," said her father.

"I backed up over your bike when I left for work last night, I am so sorry Brook," he said.

"Oh daddy, how could you!" cried Brook.

"You will of course buy me a new bike, right, daddy?" asked Brook

"No Brook, I can’t do that, I wish I could but I just can’t afford it", said her father.

Brook ran into her room and shut the door.

Now, Grandma lived with Brook and her father.

Grandma was very wise.

Grandma went into Brook’s room to talk to her.

"Brook, dear", said Grandma,

"You must not be upset with your father."

"Yes, I am upset, it’s all his fault!" cried Brook.

"Hmmm," said Grandma, "did your father leave your bike in the driveway last night?"

"No," said Brook as she bowed her head down.

"But why can’t he buy me a new one anyway?" asked Brook.

"Brook, darling, that bike cost a lot of money. I know you loved it, but your father just can not go buy you new things when something breaks." said Grandma.

"Oh Grandma, it is not fair, I am so sad!" cried Brook.

"That is okay, I know you are sad, and I didn’t say it was fair," said Grandma.

"But there is a very good lesson here, Brook."

"What is that, Grandma?" she asked.

"The Bible says to set your affection on things above,

Not on things on the earth," said Grandma.

"What does that mean?" asked Brook.

"Well, it means that we are to love God, and things of God,

God will never go away or be broken,

He is always and forever with us.

God will never disappoint you or let you down," said Grandma kindly.

Brook tried to understand but was still sad that whole day.

The next day, Grandma took Brook to the park.

Brook felt sad as she saw all her friends riding around on their bikes.

"Oh, Grandma, there is nothing to do!" cried Brook.

"Go play with that little girl over there," said Grandma.

Brook saw the little girl that was always alone.

She was sitting in a swing, all by herself.

Brook went over to her.

"Hi!" said Brook "can I push you?"

"Yes," said the little girl.

"My name is Brook, what’s yours?" she asked.

"Emma," said the girl shyly.

Emma and Brook played all day.

When it was time to go Brook felt sad.

"Oh, Grandma, I was having such a good time!" said Brook.

"That is good, we will come again tomorrow." said Grandma.

Well, Brook and Emma became very best friends over the next several months.

Emma told Brook how beautiful she thought her bike was.

She told her that she would see her riding her bike and she would wish she had one,

For Emma had never had a bike before.

Brook was very happy with her new friendship, and just think,

She never would of met her,

If not for a broken bike.

One day Brook’s father came home very excited.

"Oh, Brook!" he called.

"Yes, daddy?" answered Brook.

"Come outside, I have something to show you!" said Father.

When Brook went outside, she saw a bike in the back of the truck!

"A friend from work gave me the bike, Brook.

It was his daughters, but she is too big for it now," said Father.

Brook looked at the bike, it was very pretty.

It was red and white with white tires and it also had a horn.

"Thank you, daddy, thank you for thinking of me," said Brook.

"Of course Brook, that’s what dads are for," he said.

"Daddy, can I do whatever I want with the bike?" asked Brook.

"Of course," said her father, not sure what she meant.

That day, Grandma took Brook to the park.

Brook was very excited.

As soon as the car stopped, she got out and unloaded the bike.

She started to push it across the parking lot.

"Aren’t you going to ride your bike, Brook?" asked Grandma.

"No, Grandma, it is not going to be my bike," said Brook.

Emma saw Brook coming over.

"Wow, a new bike!" said Emma.

"Yes, a new bike, Emma, your new bike!"

Emma was overwhelmed, she didn't know what to say!

"But I don’t even know how to ride a bike," said Emma.

"Oh, that's okay. I will teach you," Brook told her.

"Oh, Brook, thank you!" said Emma.

"Of course, Emma, that's what friends are for," Brook smiled.

Brook never felt happier.

She was so happy for her friend, Emma.

It felt really good to give her the bike.

Brook and Emma continued to be very best friends.

And all this came to be because of her broken bike.

Matthew Abrahams