A Treasury of Miracles for Friends (9 page)
“And now . . .” He tossed his hands in the air and gave Steven another hug. “Here we are!”
Steven thought of the odds that he and Jimmy would wind up on the same plane, on the day Jimmy was headed off for the Olympics. A chill passed over him. “You’re right.” He narrowed his eyes, awed at the way things had worked out. “God did hear our prayers. It’s a miracle, after all.”
Note: After reconnecting at that chance meeting on the plane, Steven and Jimmy stayed friends. Jimmy survived the qualifying heat at the Wheelchair Olympics. A few months later, he won gold at the Wheelchair Olympics. Steven flew out to watch the race.
Other Books in the Miracle Series by Karen Kingsbury
A Treasury of Christmas Miracles
A Treasury of Miracles for Women
A Treasury of Miracles for Teens
Life-Changing Fiction by Karen Kingsbury
T
HE
R
ED
G
LOVES
S
ERIES
Gideon’s Gift
Maggie’s Miracle
Sarah’s Song (October 2004)
A Thousand Tomorrows (Fall, 2004)
One Tuesday Morning
Oceans Apart
T
HE
R
EDEMPTION
S
ERIES
Redemption
Remember
Return
Rejoice
Reunion (August 2004)
A Time to Dance
A Time to Embrace
Waiting for Morning
Moment of Weakness
Halfway to Forever
On Every Side
Where Yesterday Lives
When Joy Came to Stay
K
aren Kingsbury is the bestselling author of more than thirty books and one of America’s favorite inspirational storytellers. Previously a staff writer for the
Los Angeles Times
and a
People
magazine contributor, her novel
Deadly Pretender
was made into a CBS television Movie of the Week. She lives with her husband and six children in the Pacific Northwest.
If you have a miracle story or would like to contact Karen, please e-mail her at [email protected] or visit her website at
www.KarenKingsbury.com
.
Also in the Miracles Series by Karen Kingsbury
A Treasury of Miracles for Women
Created especially for women,
A Treasury of Miracles for Women
is a heartwarming collection of true stories about wondrous events in the lives of ordinary mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and friends.
A Treasury of Miracles for Teens
Filled with amazing true stories for and about teens,
A Treasury of Miracles for Teens
shows us that we are never alone, not even in the darkest hour—not even when life takes the most astonishing turns.
A Treasury of Christmas Miracles
Especially during the Christmas season, when we all search for truth and joy, events happen that we can’t explain— perhaps allowing us to see the hand of God at work in the world.
A Treasury of Christmas Miracles
is a wonderful keepsake or gift for the holidays.
The Red Gloves Series by Karen Kingsbury
Gideon’s Gift
Five years ago, Earl Badgett lost his beloved wife and daughter—and his faith in everything good. Angry and heartbroken, he took to the streets, where he slept in alleys and scavenged food from garbage cans. Now he is in a slow, anguished slide toward ending his life forever. He doesn’t want anyone reaching out to him; he doesn’t need
anyone
—especially the pesky little girl who refuses to leave him in peace when he stops by the shelter for an occasional meal. But when Gideon Mercer gives old Earl a gift at the mission dinner, neither of them can imagine that the present she’s found will lead him to a heart-wrenching reawakening. Or that someone’s determination to return the favor will begin an unforgettable series of miracles that will reverberate throughout the rest of their lives. For that is the power of faith behind
Gideon’s Gift
.
The Red Gloves Series by Karen Kingsbury
Maggie’s Miracle
Once upon a time, high-powered New York attorney Megan Wright was “Maggie,” a thirteen-year-old girl who believed in love. But no one has called her Maggie for years. And marriage to a man who never returned her feelings has left her resigned to a life without romance—or faith.
Casey Cummins lost his wife and baby in childbirth—and has struggled to put his memories to rest every hour since. When he signs up to be a mentor for the Healing Hearts program, Megan sees simply a kindhearted man whose humor and resourcefulness can help her son. She never suspects that Casey’s caring and sensitivity will ignite a series of inexplicable and wonderful events that are about to answer this couple’s most heartfelt prayers . . . during a time they will always call
Maggie’s Miracle.
Turn the page for an excerpt from Karen Kingsbury’s
Maggie’s Miracle
T
he letter was his best idea yet.
Jordan Wright had already talked to God about getting his wish, and so far nothing had happened. But a letter . . . a letter would definitely get God’s attention. Not the crayoned pictures he liked to send Grandpa in California. But a real letter. He could use his mom’s fancy paper and his best spelling and go slow so his a’s and e’s would sit straight on the line the way a second-grader’s a’s and e’s should.
That way, God would read it for sure.
Grandma Jean was watching her yucky grown-up show on TV. People kissing and crying and yelling at each other. Every day his grandma picked him up from St. Andrews, brought him home to their apartment in Manhattan, got him a snack and put in the video with her grown-up show. Jordan could make his own milkshakes or accidentally color on the walls or jump on his bed for an hour when Grandma watched her grown-up show. As long as he wasn’t too loud, she didn’t notice anything.
“This is my time, Jordan,” she’d tell him, and her eyes would get that old-lady look. “Keep yourself busy.”
But usually when the show was over she’d find him and make a loud huffy sound. “Jordan,” she’d say, “what are you into now? Why can’t you read quietly like other children?” Her voice would be slow and tired and Jordan wouldn’t know what to do next. Usually he would hug her around the waist and squeeze her tight.
“Sorry, Grandma.” He’d smile at her. “I love you.”
Grandma would nod and pat him on the head and say something quiet and jumbled, something Jordan couldn’t quite understand. She never yelled at him or sent him to his room, but one thing was sure. She didn’t like babysitting him because yesterday Jordan heard her tell his mom that.
“I can’t handle the boy forever, Megan. It’s been two years since George died. You need a nanny.” She did a breathy noise. “The boy’s wearing me out.”
Jordan had been in his room listening. He felt bad, because maybe it was his fault his grandma couldn’t handle him. But then his mom said, “I can’t handle him either, so that makes two of us.”
And after that Jordan felt too sick to eat dinner.
Ever since then he’d known it was time. He had to do whatever it took to get God’s attention, because if he didn’t get his wish pretty soon, well, maybe his mom and his grandma might not like him anymore.
It wasn’t that he tried to get in trouble. But sometimes it was boring looking for things to do, and he’d get curious and wonder what would happen if he made a milkshake with ice cubes. But how was he supposed to know the milkshake maker had a lid? He only touched the button one time but it was too late. Milk and ice cream and pieces of ice cube sprayed over the whole kitchen.
And using paper and a red crayon to trace the tiger on the wall calendar probably wasn’t a good idea in the first place, because of course sometimes crayons slip.
He took the last swallow from his milk and waited until the cookie crumbs slid down the glass into his mouth. Cookies were the best snack of all. He set the cup on the counter, climbed off the barstool and walked real quiet into his mom’s office. He wasn’t allowed in there except if his mom was working on her lawyer stuff and he had to go in to ask her a serious question.
But she’d understand today because a letter to God was very serious business.
The room was big and clean and full of wood stuff. His mom was the kind of lawyer who put bad guys in jail. That’s why sometimes she had to work late at night and on Sundays. Jordan pulled open a drawer near his mother’s computer and took out two pieces of paper and two envelopes. In case he messed up and had to start over. Then he snuck real quiet out the door, down the hall, and into his room. He had a desk and pencils in there, only he never used them because second-graders at St. Andrews don’t get homework till after Christmas.
One time he asked his mommy what would happen if he couldn’t do the homework when he got it, what if the stuff he had to do was too hard.
“It won’t be too hard, Jordan.” His mother’s eyebrows had lifted up the way they did when she was serious about something.