A Treasury of Miracles for Women Read Online Free PDF Page B

I've ever heard. I was only a few hundred yards away and I didn't get a bit of relief all evening. Shoulda come over and had dinner with you all, I guess.”
    They finished their business and drove away, but Kathy and Jason remained silent. When they had driven ten miles, Kathy turned to her husband and sighed.
    “How could he have had rain and we didn't?”
    Jason shrugged again. “That happens, honey. The rain has to have a starting point.”
    Then she told him every detail about Megan and Luke and their prayer that the rain would stop.
    Jason laughed and shook his head, thinking about how silly they must have looked as the two of them worked over the fire pit. “There we were trying everything in our own power when our kids had the right answer all along.” He grinned at Kathy. “See … no prayer is too small for God.”
    “So you think he heard their little prayers and stopped the rain just over our campsite?”
    “I guess we'll never know,” Jason smiled. “But they saw a problem and took it to God. After that it wasn't a prob lem anymore. I think we can all learn from that.”
    “I guess you're right.” Kathy grinned. Suddenly it was more than the miracle of the dry night that made her heart feel light. It was the fact that God did care about the small details after all. She reached for Jason's hand and squeezed it gently. “Like the Bible says, a child shall lead them!”

The Gift of Dance
    I sabelle Sims had never felt more discouraged in her life. She was twenty-five years old with a noticeable weakness on her left side, the effects of being born with cerebral palsy. And that afternoon she had attempted the impossible. She had joined more than seventy applicants for the position as dance instructor at a prestigious New York arts school.
    Part of the interview had included a solo dance rou tine. Isabelle had the credentials and experience but there was no way her dance held up to those of the other young women—women who were free from the handicap she'd lived with since she was born.
    She left the building in tears and made the hour-long ride to her mother's house in the country.
She'll be so disap pointed.
Isabelle thought of how badly she wanted the job, how it'd been the single dream she'd nurtured since she was a young girl. Dance instructor. Helping other children find the wings to fly across the stage the way she would have done if not for her handicap.
    The moment her mother answered the door, Isabelle's heart broke. Tears filled her eyes and she fell into her mother's arms.
    “Honey, what happened?” Isabelle's mother, Lucy, held her tight, finally helping her inside where they sat in the living room side by side.
    “They'll never hire me.” Isabelle covered her face with her hands. “The other applicants were graceful and smooth. Who wants a dance instructor who can't walk without limping?”
    Lucy looked gently at Isabelle for a moment. Then without saying a word she stood, searched through her video cabinet, and slipped a tape into the VCR. When she returned to her spot next to Isabelle, she hit the play but ton.
    The screen came alive with the image of Isabelle as a beautiful nine-year-old, twirling and leaping in the air, her ballet costume floating gracefully about her knees.
    “My first dance recital.” Isabelle stared at the image of herself and wondered how she'd lost touch with that young girl, the girl she'd once been. “I had so much confidence back then.”
    Her mother stopped the film and reached for Isabelle's hand. “You were such a little fighter back then, sweetheart. Nothing was going to stop you. Especially not a bother some case of cerebral palsy.”
    Isabelle sniffed. “That was a long time ago.” She ran her fingertips beneath her eyes and shook her head. “That little girl doesn't exist anymore.”
    Lucy drew a slow breath. A sad smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Darling, I think you need to hear the mira cle story one more time.”
    Isabelle shrugged.