The Miracle
The following is a true story.
Tess was a precocious eight year old. One night she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she could determine from the conversation was that he was very sick and they had no money left for to pay for his much-needed surgery. The parents said they will need to move to a small apartment because Daddy didn't have the money to pay for the accumulated medical bills. Now, only a very costly surgery could save Andrew but they did not have the money they needed and despite all their efforts, they could not find anyone to loan them the money. After hearing her desperate father whisper to her tearful mother that only a miracle can save their son now, Tess went to her bedroom, pulled out her piggy bank from its hiding place in the closet, poured out all the money on the floor and counted it carefully. Not knowing what else to do, she clutched her precious piggy bank, slipped out the back door and made her way to the local drugstore six blocks away. There she took the coins from her piggy bank and placed them on the glass counter. “And what would you like?” the pharmacist asked. “It’s for my little brother” she replied. “He’s very sick and I want to buy a miracle”. “I beg your pardon,” the pharmacist said. The girl replied: “His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So, how much does a miracle cost?” “I’m so sorry, child,” the pharmacist replied, smiling sadly, “We don’t sell miracles here.” “But I have money to pay for it” the girl said. “If it isn’t enough I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”
Meanwhile, a well-dressed customer had entered the shop and overheard their conversation. He stooped down and asked the little girl what kind of a miracle her brother needed. “I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up “I just know that he is very sick and Mommy says that he needs an operation but Daddy can’t pay for it, so I brought all of my money and I will pay for it”.
"How much do you have?" asked the well dressed man. "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 took her hand 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. The parents were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place. "That surgery,"her Mom whispered. "It 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... beloved poet and author Shel Silverstein said it best:
Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT’S
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me…
Anything can happen, child
ANYTHING can be