REALLY DO HAPPEN
REALLY DO HAPPEN
Tess went to her bedroom and
pulled a small box 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 box, she slipped out the back
door and made her way six blocks
to the drug store.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but
he
was busy talking to another man
and couldn't be bothered by an eight year
old 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 box 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
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
eyes filled 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 from Chicago.
"One
dollar and eleven cents." Tess answered. "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 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 Armstong. 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.