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An old Norwegian legend relates about a man called Haakon, who always
contemplated an image of Christ crucified, this Cross was very ancient,
people came to it, to pray with much faith. Many were praying to Christ
for a miracle. One day Haakon, the hermit, wanted to ask Him a favour. Driven by a feeling
of generosity, goodness and love he knelt before the Cross and said: "Lord,
I want to suffer and die for You. Let me occupy your place. I want to ....
You on the Cross." And he remained with his eyes fixed on Him, as if
expecting an answer. The Lord opened His lips and spoke. His words fell from the heavens,
whispering and admonishing: "My loyal servant, I shall grant you your wish,
but only under one condition" "Which, Lord? Is it a difficult condition? I am ready to fulfill it with
your help, Lord!" - answered the old hermit. "Listen: Whatever may happen and regardless of whatever you may see, you
must always keep in silence. Haakon answered: "I promise You this, my
Lord!" And they carried out the exchange. Nobody noticed the barter. Nobody
recognised the hermit, hung by nails to the cross. And for a long time he kept the agreement. And he never spoke to anyone.
But one day, a RICH MAN CAME, after having prayed, he forgot his purse
there. Haakon saw him and kept silent. Neither did he speak when a poor man, that
came two hours later, took the rich man´s purse and kept it. And he also
remained silent when a young man knelt down before him shortly afterwards,
asking for his grace before parting on a long trip. Then the rich man came back to look for his purse. And not finding it, he
thought that the young man had taken it. The rich man with fury shouted at the young man, "Give me the purse you
have stolen from me!"
The young man answered: "I haven´t stolen any purse!".
Then the rich man said, "Don´t lie, give it back to me, immediately!".
The young man affirmed, "I tell you, I haven´t taken any bag from anybody The rich man started hitting him furiously. Then a powerful voice filled
the
air:. "Stop!"
The rich man looked up and saw that the image was speaking to him, Haakon
could not keep silent, he called out from the cross, defending the young
man
and scolded the rich man for his false accusation. The rich man was
astonished and left the place.
The young man also left because he was in a hurry to go on his voyage.
When the Cross remained alone, Christ approached His servant and told him: Come down from the Cross. You are not fit to occupy my place. You haven´t
been able to keep silence". " Lord, - said Haakon - , How could I allow such injustice?". Jesus once again took His place on the Cross and the hermit stood under the
Cross. The Lord, continued speaking: "You didn´t know that it was good for
the rich man to have lost his purse, for in it he was carrying money to go
to commit sexual sin with a young virgin. Whereas the poor man did well
because, he was in need of money in his utter poverty.
It would have been better if the young man was beaten up by the rich man in
his misunderstanding in which case he would have not gone for his voyage.
Now, you see a few minutes ago he died in a ship- wrecked. You didn´t know
all these things BUT I DID. That is why I am silent". And the Lord once again kept silence.
Often we ask ourselves? Why doesn´t God answer our prayers... Why does God
remain silent? Many of us would like Him to answer us according to our will and fancies
But God's way is different. He knows the past, present and future (Heb
13:8)
God answers us even in silence.... we must be ready to listen to Him and
to
wait upon Him "For My thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways my ways, says the
Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above
your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts" (Is 55: 8-9) "For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for
your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope" (Jer
29:11) A SHIP IS ALWAYS SAFE IN THE HARBOUR ... BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT ITS BUILT FOR,
IS IT?
Tess was a precious 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 the money for the doctor bills and our house. 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 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 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, specialising 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...... One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tom orrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. " They really should get lives. He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!". There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came! , and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! "He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!". He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you mak e it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable." I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others. "Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly." There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift.
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