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Listen, I
NEED to buy a miracle Lord
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| Tess was
a precocious eight years old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking 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
intently talking to another man to be bothered by an eight year old 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 a 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 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. |
|
|
"What
is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going
to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." Hebrews 11:1 |
