The power children do not know they have

EASTWIND

Bernie V. Lopez

Children have certain powers that are hard for adults to understand. They have a magical influence over people in their innocence. They do not even know they possess such powers. It’s instinctive and natural. Five-year-old Peggy is such a child.
    Peggy opens her piggy bank, and pours the contents on the floor. She counts the coins three times, to be sure there is no mistake. She brings the piggy bank to the pharmacy six blocks away.
PEGGY – Sir, my brother Andrew is very sick, so I want to buy a miracle for him. (Suppressed laughter from the long line of customers. Peggy ignores them.)
PHARMACIST – I beg your pardon?
PEGGY – He has something bad growing inside his head and my dad says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?
PHARMACIST – We don’t sell miracles here, young lady.
PEGGY – I have the money. I can get more. Just tell me how much it costs.
DR. CARLTON – Hi there. I’m Dr. Carlton. What kind of a miracle does your brother need?
PEGGY – (In tears) I don’t know. I just know he’s really sick and mommy says he needs an operation. But my dad can’t pay for it, so I want to buy a miracle.
DR. CARLTON – How much do you have?
PEGGY – One dollar and eleven cents. I can get more if I need to.
DR. CARLTON – What a coincidence, the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. Bring me to Andrew. I have the miracle he needs.
Peggy gives her piggy bank to Dr. Carlton, a famous neuro-surgeon. He operates on Andrew free of charge, who was up and about in no time.
PEGGY’S MOM – That surgery was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?
PEGGY – A miracle costs one dollar and eleven cents, Mommy.
PEGGYS MOM – Plus your faith, Peggy, which was part of the miracle.
PEGGY – Me?
PEGGY’S MOM – Yes. Without your faith, your savings would not have been enough.
PEGGY – Oh, really? And how much is my faith worth?
PEGGY’S MOM – Priceless, my dear.
A ball is a circle, infinite because it has no beginning, no end. So is our circle of friends. When you pass the ball, like Dr. Carlton to Peggy, it multiplies endlessly. Peggy and Andrew later on passed the ball, becoming top neuro-surgeons. Together, they saved thousands of lives, but never charged a single cent. They bought the pharmacy six blocks away, from whose income, they lived modestly. They retained the aging pharmacist.
           ***
Here is another story. Policeman Ralph is driving with his eight-year-old son Francis. There is a huge traffic jam for three kilometers, and they have not moved for more than an hour. Ralph goes down to investigate, telling Francis to stay in the car.
Ralph joins a group of eight other policemen huddled together with the police chief, thinking how to solve the problem. A sixteen-wheeler was stuck at the overhead pedestrian crossing, apparently too tall to make it through.
CHIEF – Hi Ralph. We tried to pull out the truck using two bulldozers. The steel cables snapped. It won’t budge.
RALPH – Chief, how about we apply some grease on the roof of the truck.
CHIEF – We tried that too. No go. We’ve tried everything.
Impatient, Francis gets out of the car, wiggles through the crowd of policemen until he is in front of the police chief.
FRANCIS – I got a solution, chief.
RALPH – (Angry and embarrassed). I told you to stay in the car. This is not for kids.
Francis goes back to the car. But he cannot stand it anymore. He goes back, wiggles his way once again through until he is in front of the police chief.
FRANCIS – I got a solution, chief.
This time, the policemen all laughed. Francis, struggles and screams as his embarrassed dad carries him bodily back to the car, and handcuffs him to the steering wheel.
CHIEF – (Screaming to be heard). Hey, Ralph, bring the kid back here. (They go back.) Okay, kid. Speak up.
Traumatized by the ridicule, Francis is silent and in tears. Ralph gives him a slight push. The policemen laugh again.
CHIEF – Shut up guys. (He takes Francis aside, and whispers.) Okay, kid. Take it easy. Forget your dad and the policemen. What’s your solution?
FRANCIS – Simple, chief. Take the air out of the tires.
The police chief is speechless. He hugs Francis. In no time, the traffic was solved. Ralph lifts Francis, as the policemen and many onlookers applaud.
The wisdom of children is pure instinct. They do not need logic. They know instantly. “Praise to You, Oh Father, for what You have hidden from the wise, you have revealed to little children.” Luke 10:21.
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