WHAT A COINCIDENCE!

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 enough money for the doctor bills and the house payments. 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 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 you 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 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 ...

~Anonymous
Parable