A MESSAGE TO START YOUR DAY.

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
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 little child.