Miracle or Not?

[Bill Mattocks]

I went to McDonald's for lunch today, just before I went to do my laundry.

Sitting across from me were two men conversing with each other. Normally, I would be engrossed in my newspaper and would not hear them, or I would be watching CNN on the TV hanging from the wall over the row of tables. Today, however, there were no newspapers in the paper machine when I came in, and someone had (once again) vandalized the TV set, so it was displaying "Please insert smartcard to continue."

One man was speaking earnestly to the other. I happened to overhear. Here is what he said:

This was a long time ago, when my wife and I were first married, and we had a couple kids pretty quick and I lost my job. No money. Our car was an old rust-bucket and didn't run well and we hung in there as best we could, but finally we had nothing left but a jug of ice water in the fridge and a tank of gas. We loaded up the kids and went to everyone's house we knew, looking for anything - money, food, a job - anything. We found nothing.

At the end of the day, tired and hungry, we headed back to our house. My daughter for some reason asked if we could stop and buy some bologna on the way home. I lost my temper - I shouldn't have - and yelled at her. There were some harsh words said between my wife and I, and the kids were crying, and I yelled at my daughter, "If you want bologna, why don't you try asking God for it, because I haven't got any damned money!"

The rest of the drive home was silent. My wife was mad, I was mad, the kids were upset, and we were all hungry.

When we got home, as we got out of the car, my daughter came around the side of the car and hugged me and said "I prayed to God for fresh pineapple and bologna." I hugged her back and said "I hope He heard you, sweetie."

I unlocked the front door and we went inside, and I saw something sitting on the kitchen table. I went into the kitchen and it was a sack of potatoes. I called my wife to ask her how the heck a sack of potatoes got onto the kitchen table - we didn't have any potatoes when we left, so what the heck? She came in and was astonished - she didn't buy any potatoes and had no idea how they got there. I had unlocked the front door when we came in, and I knew I locked it when we left.

Then my wife noticed a note on the side of the sack of potatoes. It said "Jesus loves you." That's all, just "Jesus loves you."

I still had no idea what had happened, and I opened the fridge door to get some of the ice water inside. But the fridge was full of food. Stuffed to overflowing - it was loaded with everything. Milk, condiments, meat, cheese, condiments, a jar of pickles, everything.

On the top shelf, staring me in the face, was a whole, fresh pineapple, and sitting next to it, a pack of bologna. We had never had a pineapple in the house before, it wasn't on our usual grocery list. Why my daughter prayed for one, I do not know. But there it was, a whole, fresh, pineapple. And a pack of bologna.

I have no explanation for what happened. I do know it affected us all very powerfully - to this day I cry when I tell the story. My wife and children can all verify that this happened. My daughter is now a Minister of God. She told me that when people ask her why she decided to become a minister, she answers, "Fresh pineapple and bologna," and laughs.

With that, the two men got up and left. I finished my lunch and went to do my laundry, thinking about fresh pineapple and bologna.

 

[MA-Caver]

The miracle that occurred here was not the fresh food appearing in the family's larder but the fact a child's faith was enough to humble the father who shouted at her needlessly when he should've had as much faith as his little one did.
The bible teaches that we should have faith as small children and nothing will be impossible.
Today on my (last) tour I met a beautiful little girl of about 5 years old. She was so filled with happiness that her family was hard pressed to keep her from running around from person to person just to say hello. She stayed particularly close to me and was beaming happiness at me whenever I turned around to face the group for my next spiel or to check on them.
I was having a crappy day at work today and this child's simple innocent happiness just melted it all away.

Is it any wonder that children need to be treated as precious as the most flawless gemstone.

 

[terryl965]

The miracle that occurred here was not the fresh food appearing in the family's larder but the fact a child's faith was enough to humble the father who shouted at her needlessly when he should've had as much faith as his little one did.
The bible teaches that we should have faith as small children and nothing will be impossible.
Today on my (last) tour I met a beautiful little girl of about 5 years old. She was so filled with happiness that her family was hard pressed to keep her from running around from person to person just to say hello. She stayed particularly close to me and was beaming happiness at me whenever I turned around to face the group for my next spiel or to check on them.
I was having a crappy day at work today and this child's simple innocent happiness just melted it all away.

Is it any wonder that children need to be treated as precious as the most flawless gemstone.

Very well said.

 

[nwalker]

Amen

 

[seasoned]

Very interesting story Bill. I feel that certain things come into our lives at particular times, and in unusual ways. I can't speak for you, but for myself, these are the times I feel that something or someone is trying to convey a message. Do I believe in miracles, maybe, but not the way most people would define them. There have been times in my life that certain things have happened to cause me to take notice of my own situations, and to evaluate myself in a new way. To me this can be a miracle, in, and of itself. The paths we find ourselves on, and the situations that are presented to us, are for our benefit alone, and meant for us to grow from. Thanks for sharing the story with us.