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MIRACLE: A TRUE STORY
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 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-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 little child.
A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.
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