The Miracle
Posted by: tz8cy5 <tz8cy5@...>
about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and
they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex
next month because Daddy didn't have the money for the doctor bills and our
house. Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking
like there was no-one to loan them the money.
She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, "Only
a miracle can save him now." Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass
jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change
out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had
to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the
coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door
and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian
Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was
too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise.
Nothing.She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could
muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the
glass counter. That did it! "And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in
an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I
haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the
same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick... and I want to buy a
miracle." "I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist. "His name is Andrew and
he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle
can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?" "We don't sell miracles
here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you,"the pharmacist said,
softening a little. "Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't
enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked
the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does you brother need?" "I don't
know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. "I just know he's really sick
and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I
want to use my money. "How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all
the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to. "Well, what a
coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents--the exact price of
a miracle for little brothers."
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten
and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your
parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need." That well
dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in
neuro-surgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn't long
until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily
talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
"That surgery,"her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it
would have cost?" Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...
one dollar and eleven cents ...... plus the faith of a little child.
A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a
higher law......