The Price of a Miracle
(Unknown Author)
Tess was a precocious eight year old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking
about her little brother, Andrew. All Tess knew was that Andrew 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 to 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.
Without waiting for an answer, he sharply said, "I'm talking to my brother from
Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages."
"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 startled 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. Stooping down, he asked
the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does you brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up with tears. "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.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "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
neurosurgery.
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 child!
"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And
he said: 'I tell
you the truth, unless you change and become like little
children, you will
never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles
himself like
this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever
welcomes a
little child like this in my name welcomes me. And whoever
welcomes a little
child like this in my name welcomes me.'" Matthew 18:2-5
(NIV)
"Better to remain silent and be thought a
fool,
than to speak out and remove all doubt.
(Abraham Lincoln)
"He who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps himself from calamity."
Proverbs 21:23 (NIV)
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