Secondary Retelling7 min●●○○○'Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry (1892–1921)
A Living Spirit: Thomas Breakwell
Baha'i Stories for Children · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
1844'Abdu'l-Bahá (1892–1921)2026
'Akká (today: Acre, Israel)
On a hot summer day in 1901, a young man named Thomas Breakwell walked the quiet streets of Paris, France, where he was visiting. The
day was very still. Flowers did not nod in the gardens; there was no wind to
make them dance. Leaves did not hum in the tall trees; there was no wind to
make them sing.
Suddenly, Thomas felt the air begin to move. It rushed all
around him, and the breeze seemed like a sweet voice saying "Christ has
come again! Christ has come again!" The sound was so loving and happy that
it made Thomas happy, too. He wondered if Christ really had come again, and
when and where it might have happened.
The next day, Thomas went to see his friend, May Maxwell.
May Maxwell was a Baha'i from America who went all over the world teaching the
Baha'i Faith. She and Thomas had talked about God before, but she had not told
him about the Baha'i Faith. When he spoke to her of the sound like a sweet
voice in the wind that had said "Christ has come again! Christ has come
again!", she told him that she was a Baha'i, and that Baha'is believe in
Baha'u'llah, the Glory of God. Baha'u'llah, she said, had the same spirit as
Christ, the Holy Spirit, and He was the One Who Christ promised would come. She
also said that Baha'is must help all people to know and love Baha'u'llah, so
that they will love each other and live in peace together.
As soon as May Maxwell had told Thomas about Baha'u'llah,
he, too, became a Baha'i. He learned that Baha'u'llah's son, 'Abdu'l-Baha, the
Servant of the Glory, lived in the great prison of 'Akka, and he wanted very
much to see Him. He wrote 'Abdu'lBaha a letter:
"My Lord, I believe; forgive me. Thy servant, Thomas
Break well. "
'Abdu'l-Baha said that Thomas could come to see Him, so
Thomas and another young Baha'i named Herbert Hopper sailed on a ship to 'Akka.
As they traveled across the deep sea, they looked with wonder upon the sky and
the wide waters. All things seemed beautiful because the two men were filled
with the love of God.
At the end of their journey, they came to 'Akka. Big stone
walls enclosed the whole town. No one who lived in 'Akka could go beyond those
walls. They were all like prisoners.
Thomas and Herbert were allowed to go into the prison
through the gate in the high wall, to 'Abdu'l-Baha's house. In a large room,
some Baha'is from the East sat talking. They wore long robes and had turbans on
their heads. Herbert Hopper smiled and sat down with them, but Thomas sat down
alone.
"Who are these people?" he asked himself.
"What am I doing here?" He felt sad and sick. He was sick with doubt.
He did not trust God. He did not remember that God loves everyone. His faith
had weakened.
Suddenly a door opened, and Thomas saw a wonderful light. It
looked as though the sun were rising in the room. Thomas jumped up and saw that
the light was 'Abdu'lBaba's love for everyone, a love which came through Him
from God. Thomas never doubted God's love again; he never lost his faith.
In 'Akka, Thomas had many talks with 'Abdu'l-Baha. One day,
he told 'Abdu'l-Baha about his job in a cotton mill in the United States. Children
also worked in that cotton mill. [1] They were too small and too weak to do
heavy work, so many of them became sick. They did not have good food or
clothes, and they could not go to school. Thomas was grieved about this because
he was the boss of those children. He felt he was doing wrong, and asked
'Abdu'l-Baha to forgive him.
'Abdu'l-Baha told Thomas to quit the job, so Thomas followed
the advice and did not go back to the cotton mill. Instead, he went back to
France and lived in a poor part of Paris, which was far away from the other
Baha'is. To see them, he had to walk until his legs and feet hurt, but he would
not spend money to ride in a carriage. He wanted to save what little money he
had for the Baha'i Fund.
Thomas Breakwell was the first Baha'i from the West to pay
the Huququ'llah, which only the Persian Baha'is paid at that time. This is
giving a set part of their money to a special Fund. Thomas gave so much money
to the Huququ'llah that he had no money left for himself. But this did not worry
him. He didn't even care whether he ate or not.
One day, May Maxwell was taking him in a horse-drawn bus to
see some Baha'is, when he looked out the window and saw an old lady trying to
push an apple cart up a hill. He jumped off the bus and helped her.
Thomas helped many people in his life. He believed that we
are all God's children, and that God's children must help one another.
Thomas Breakwell did not live to be very old, but his life
was long enough to gain great spiritual rewards. In his honor, 'Abdu'l-Baha
revealed a beautiful tablet. In it, He said:
"Oh my beloved! Oh Breakwell! Thou hast become a star
in the most exalted horizon, a lamp among the angels of heaven, a living spirit
in the Supreme World, and art established upon the throne of immortality.
"
(By Janet Homnik, illustrations by Betty DeAraujo; 'The
Brilliant Star' magazine, November-December 1999)
[1] At that time the United States had no laws against child
labor.
Source: Baha'i Stories for Children (https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-living-spirit-thomas-breakwell.html).
Discuss this story
For adults
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
- What in your own life does this story bring to mind?
- Where do faith and forgiveness meet in this story?
For teens
- What is one quality you'd want to carry forward from this account?
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
For children
- What is one new word you learned in this story?
- What did May Maxwell do that was kind?
Reflection
- Sit quietly for a moment after reading. What does this story stir in you?
- If you could bring one quality from this story into your next conversation, what would it be?
- What single image from this story will stay with you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "A Living Spirit: Thomas Breakwell" drawn from?
Where does this story take place?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
Various. *Baha'i Stories for Children*. https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-living-spirit-thomas-breakwell.html
This story shares quotes with 145 other stories
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Also in
- 1844: A lonely youth’s encounter with Bahá’u’lláh by a roadside in Mazindaran and his amazing recognition of His station— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- 1848: Baha’u’llah describes the consternation that seized the Bábís when Tahirih suddenly appeared unveiled at the conference of Badasht— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- 1851 Karbilá, Iraq: A disciple of the Báb becomes the first person to whom Baha'u'llah confided His Divine Mission – as was prophesied by the Báb in 1848— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- A believer’s eagerness to provide financial assistance to Baha’u’llah – but chose a wrong method— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- A funny incident while in the company of the Master— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- …and 89 more
“clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;”
Also in
- A pilgrim reports in 1920 how busy ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was replying to numerous letters from around the world— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- An example of how man is unable to prevent God from executing His will— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- An example of love and compassion shown by Munirih Khanum (‘Abdu’l-Baha’s wife)— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- Bahá’u’lláh’s departure for the Garden of Ridván— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- Baha’u’llah visits Mulla Husayn and his companions at Fort Tabarsi— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- …and 69 more
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