She has been touched by them and has therefore prepared a special place, so as to share them with her visitors. Enjoy!!
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 & 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 audible. "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 girl.
Everyday, my husband and his other brothers would go about arduous process of trying to get water to the fields. Lately , this process had involved taking a truck to a local water rendering plant and filling it up with water.
But, severe rationing had cut everyone off. If we didn't see some rain soon, we would lose everything.
It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of sharing and witnessed a true miracle with my own eyes.
I was in the kitchen making lunch for my husband and his brothers when I saw my six year old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. He wasn't walking with the usual carefree abandon of a youth, but, with a serious purpose. I could only see his back, he was obviously walking with a great effort .... trying to be as still as possible.
Minutes after he disappeared in the woods, he came running out again, toward the house. I went back to making sandwiches, thinking that whatever task he had been doing was completed.
Moments later , he was walking with that slow stride toward the woods. This went on for an hour... walk carefully into the woods, Running back to the house... Finally , I couldn't take it any longer.. I crept out of the house, and followed him on his journey.(being very careful not to be seen, as he was obviously doing something important and didn't need his Mommy checking up on him )
He was cupping his hands in front of him, being very careful to not spill the water he had in them....maybe 2 or 3 tablespoons were being held in his tiny palms. I sneaked close as he went into the woods.. Branches and limbs slapped him in the face, but, he didn't try to avoid them, being so careful with the water. He had a much higher purpose as I leaned in to spy on him, I saw the most amazing thing.
Several large deer loomed in front of him.. Billy walked right up to them.. I almost screamed for him to get away. A huge buck with large antlers was dangerously close.. but, the buck didn't threaten him, he didn't even move as Billy knelt down.
I saw a tiny fawn lying on the ground, obviously suffering from Dehydration.. slightly raising up to drink the water that was cupped in beautiful boys' hands. When the water was gone, Billy jumped up and ran back to the house.. I hid behind a tree...
I ran back to the house & saw Billy go to a spigot we had shut off the water to. Billy opened it all the way up and a small trickle began to trickle out. He knelt there and let it drip slowly as it filled up the cup of his hands, as the sun was beaming so hot on his back.
And it came clear to me. The trouble he had gotten in to for playing with the hose the week before. the lecture he had recieved about not wasting the water, which was the very reason he didn't ask for MY help. It took almost 20 minutes for the water to fill up his small hands.
When he raised up and began his walk back into the woods, I was in front of him.
His little eyes just filled with tears.... '' I'm not wasting '' , was all he said , he begun to walk into the woods, I walked with him carrying a small pot of water I got out of the kitchen. I let him tend to the fawn, I stayed away.. it was HIS job.
I stood at the edge of the woods, watching the most beautiful heart I had ever known working so hard to save another life..
As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly joined by other drops.. more drops and more... I looked up at the sky, it was as if God himself was weeping with pride.
Some will just say that this was just a huge coincidence. That miracles don't really exist.. that it was bound to rain sometime... I can't argue with that...
but, all I can say was the rain that came that day, saved our farm... just like actions of a little boy saved another life.
