A NOTE From The Editor: Today's Special Edition is a TRUE story that happened just last week. As Linda related it to me, she got both a sparkle and a tear in her eye. She knew she had experienced an honest to goodness miracle. It might not seem earth-shattering to some, but for her, it moved mountains. I hope you'll appreciate her experience and that it will help you know in your heart that God (by any name) is always with us.

Linda is a neat woman. She's a widow, a mother, a grandmother. She's a friend, a mentor, a teacher of life. She's also an entrepreneur. That's how I met Linda - when I needed help keeping my apartment, I was told to give her a call.

I don't know about Linda's formal education, but I can tell you the life she's led has been an education in and of itself. She's been in some pretty humbling situations and has done a lot to be proud of. She's lived in what most folks consider poverty, she's lived high on the hog, and pretty much every where in between. Linda is a lesson in life.

She's also a lesson in faith and miracles. The last few years have been a struggle for Linda. After her husband died, she found herself taking care of a lot of things she had never done before. In the process, she fell behind with her taxes and had to declare personal bankruptcy. Linda's never made money the most important thing in life. Then again, when there doesn't seem to be enough to pay the bills, every little bit matters. But not enough to block out Linda's generosity.

After working hard all week, Linda still finds the time and energy to cook up a feast for her family. Her children, her grandchildren, her siblings and their families know that Linda has an open door and a hearty pot of food waiting for them every weekend. So do her friends. Somehow, she always manages to have enough. That's why it didn't surprise me when Linda told me about helping out a hungry woman who had asked her for food. Things were really tight, but against her daughter's advice, Linda made the decision to share what meager fortune she had. And then with a chuckle, she added, "Besides, I kept hearing that phrase from the Bible about entertaining strangers for you never know when you're in the company of angels… or Jesus himself." Linda wasn't sure why that came to her - as she put it, she's never really been "religious."

It had been a difficult week all around for Linda. On the way out the door after cleaning a very important client's apartment, the industrial-sized vacuum bag exploded all over, sending dust into every room they had just cleaned. So she and her "girls" started the work over again. (Linda has a way of "adopting" the people that work for her… she not only pays them a salary, but respect, dignity, and unconditional love.) Frustrated and late for their next appointment, they tried to leave again - only to have the vacuum explode in the exact same place! That was more than enough for Linda. "God," she said, "I don't know if the devil's out there trying to get me at this point, but if he is, please watch out for me and take him out of my life."

By the time Linda and the girls left it was too late to make their next appointment so they headed home, but got stuck in the middle of an intersection when the light turned red. Thinking the car at the cross section would allow her to complete her turn, Linda started to turn left. Instead she received a loud blare of the horn and was almost run over. Then it got worse… a large semi was trying to turn - as he pulled forward and started to maneuver the big rig around the corner, the back end swung out and was coming straight for Linda. Granted her car wasn't as nice as some folks', but she's certainly couldn't afford to have it smashed, much less endanger the girls' lives. She tried to back up, thinking the woman behind her would adjust lane position, seeing what was about to happen. Linda just barely avoided being hit by the truck, but had a fender bender with the car behind her. An eloquently dressed woman stepped out of her brand new Luxury Lexus. She looked at Linda, looked at both cars, and said, "No damage, no problem. It's OK, just have a safe drive home."

Linda was grateful to the woman and grateful to God. "Thank You, Lord!"

Returning home, Linda took the time to look at her daughter's finances. She and her husband were separated. He still loved her and their children, but his job took him on the road often, and Linda's daughter preferred her independence to waiting for someone who was never there. After carefully going through the numbers, it became apparent that her husband needed to pitch in more to support the children's needs. Linda called him on the phone and explained the situation. He agreed and said he'd be over in a few hours.

The horn honking in the driveway was familiar. "Daddy" was here and his son ran out eager to greet him. He hugged his son and said "Here's all I have for now. Please give this $60.00 to Nanna and tell her I'll call later to explain everything."

The child brought the money to Linda as his father drove out of the driveway. Three wrinkled $20.00 bills. Sixty dollars wasn't much, but every penny counted at this point. Linda set the money on the end-table next to the couch and sat down to read her book while waiting for the phone call. Finally, a bit after midnight, the phone rang. "I'm sorry all I have is that $60.00 right now. I was on the road for almost 6 weeks and got behind in my bills. I'll have more on Friday and will bring it by."

That was a satisfactory answer for Linda. She knew the children's father well enough to know he was telling the truth. She picked up the three $20.00 bills and slipped them into her pocket sweater, grabbed her book, and went to bed… thanking God that although their finances were quite meager that they still had abundance in their lives.

The next morning, Linda was asked to pick up some dry cleaning. She and her client looked at the dry-cleaner's slip, which said "5.00." He gave her the exact $5.00 and Linda left to pick up his slacks. When she gave the attendant the slip, she was told it would $8.50. "But what about the $5.00 it says right here?" Linda asked. "Oh, that's not five dollars, that's five o'clock… that's when they were ready for pick up." Linda wasn't too happy with the answer, but could understand the situation. She reached into her pocket for one of the $20.00 bills, knowing her client would reimburse her. But what she pulled out were three $50.00 bills! Linda did a double take. It couldn't possibly be. She had looked at the money when her "grandbaby" gave it to her and again before putting it in her pocket and going to bed. No one else even knew it was there!

But as she leafed through each of the three bills, sure enough, they were all FIFTY-dollar bills, not twenties! "Thank You, Jesus!" Linda exclaimed. All she could think of was the woman she had helped out just a few days ago who had asked her for a meal. She remembered the Bible phrase that what you give out will come back to you in increased measure. Could this possibly be related?

Linda took the slacks back to her client and asked him if he had given her the money. No, most certainly not! Linda called all of her children and asked them about it. No, they hadn't either. But her daughter did remind her, "Momma, you did ask God to take care of you, and He is!" Maybe the kids' father made a mistake. Linda called him and told him he must have given her some of his bill money. "No, Nanna. I took everything I had and put it in exact money-orders. I gave you exactly sixty dollars."

Linda still couldn't believe it, but she accepted her fortune with a smile of faith, praised God, and gave thanks for her pocket full of miracles.

--- © 10/15/99 Jeanette M. Pintar