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 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......
Contributed by Steve Hughes - Spencer, WV