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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 -- the exact price of a miracle
for little brothers. " He took her money
in onehand 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 little child.
A miracle
is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation
of a higher law......
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