The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

A small miracle goes a long way

By Ingrid McCleary

A month ago, my son's backpack was stolen at Cumberland Elementary School, and in the process of looking for it, I received a parking ticket because I'd left the car in the white zone.

After my indignation subsided, my focus shifted to the mixed message my son was getting through this double whammy, particularly after he said, "Mom, that's not right. You were helping me, and now you're in trouble, too."

I could deal with my trouble, but was I going to have to tell him "life's not always fair" twice in eight minutes?

The life lessons you impart to your children come in all flavors: Some are sweet and easily digestible; others are bitter and hard to swallow. And it's not as if you can sit with your child and instill life lessons with flash cards. No, you wait diligently, and when the right opportunity comes along, you use that experience as an example. You watch the understanding seep into their minds and hope they'll draw on the memory when faced with a similar situation in the future.

On the way back to our car, he'd said, "Mom, we won't get it back."

"If you believe we won't, then we won't," I'd answered. "But if you believe you will, and pray you will, then you might get it back.

Think only good thoughts."

But I'd also warned him that maybe somebody needed the backpack more than he did, that maybe the person who'd stolen it had to learn how bad they'd feel taking something that belonged to someone else.

In other words, I hedged the bet. On the one hand, I wanted him to exercise his faith. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22). But on the other hand, not all prayers are answered with a positive. Sometimes it's "no" or "wait."

Retrieving a stolen object is rare. Was I setting my son up for a fall?

"Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1Timothy 5:3)

Fall or no, I wanted to cement the power of belief in his budding mind, so whatever the outcome, I knew I had to approach this from the positive viewpoint.

"Let's forget about that ticket and concentrate on getting your backpack back." Then I challenged him to say "backpack back" three times aloud without sounding like a duck. Soon the injustice of the parking ticket was forgotten.

A week later, Travis found his backpack. Not where he'd left it and not in the lost and found, but in the cafeteria where 580 children filtered through on a daily basis. There it sat, at the end of one table, just waiting for Travis to reclaim it. Where it had been the previous seven days is a mystery.

Delight radiated from him as he jumped into the car and gave me an ear-to-ear grin, "Mom, it worked!" he exclaimed, referring to his nightly prayers.

Now--this could have easily gone the other way. Even if it had, it would have taught my son something of value.

But I know this little miracle will make a big impact in his life. As he grows, he'll experience disappointment and disillusionment. His faith in the human spirit may falter. That's a given. But his backpack memory will always be there to help balance the scales.

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong--that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." (Romans 1:11-12)

That night, I happily wrote out my check to the city of Sunnyvale. They got $32; my son and I got a miracle. I'll take a miracle over money any day.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 24, 1997.
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