Cost of a Miracle
Tess was a
precocious eight year 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's 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 your 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 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......
Author Unknown
Contact the webmaster to request your link be added!
Through meditation and divination one can open up awareness to other realms of existence within and without of oneself – a journey which may ultimately lead one to enlightenment.