How to Make a Miracle
The Story
As an international student, I was not allowed to engage in employment. I was also expected to take a full course load. If I failed to cover tuition expenses for a single semester, I would eventually be restricted from eating at the school cafeteria. Worse, all my classes would be dropped and I would be shipped back to Africa with no certificate of completion or a dollar to my name. If this happened, it would mean shame and disgrace for me and my mother. I would have wasted time, resources, and two years of my life on a whim, a delusional divinely inspired adventure. As I pondered these things in the absence of an A/C in the car, His soft whispers left me with this note in my spirit, “Don’t worry about it. Just go to school and trust me.” That’s how I found myself on the road to school unsure of myself, my needs, and my tuition. How had I survived my sophomore year? That is another story. But it all came together in this story.
HOW THE MIRACLE WAS CREATED
Then September came and with it, more notices. In my tax class, I would tear up and pray silently, “God. I need directions. Help me.” In one such class, I discerned the soft whisper say, “Give $50 to this…and another $50 to that…, and then pay $500 as part of your contribution to your tuition and as a sign of faith.” I thought it was the craziest request ever. Why make it more painful? $500 would not make a difference. And why would I be giving $100 to someone else? What about me? I needed it. My room was void of any snacks. It would be nice to have some money for Sabbath donuts. But, we had a deal. So, I did. If this was going to be a successful adventure, it would be wise to keep following these unconventional directions. After all, my life was already finished.
After complying, I proudly submitted my results in prayers. This time, I heard that soft inner voice say, “Ok. Your tuition is all taken care of.”
So, I prayed again, asking if he was sure. I said, “Listen God. I know you keep saying it’s all taken care of, but what should I do and where should I get the money from?”
The next day, I decided to make a more persuasive argument. I printed out the receipt for the tuition which was due, brought it back to my room, lifted it up, and offered the following prayer,
So, maybe math is not your strong point God because you keep telling me it’s all taken care of but this here — my receipt — shows that I now owe $6,014.35 after my contribution, two small scholarships, and late fees. Clearly, I still owe money. So, where is the money coming from?
The response was the same — it’s all taken care of. What did that mean anyway? Still, I had some hope. I could hold on a little longer. Often, doubts resurfaced. What was I doing with my life and what was I doing, thinking the “voice” and “dreams” meant something? But since it was too late to turn back and no way out of the tuition dilemma, the best thing to do was to see it through. So, I held on a bit longer.
Then, October came and I was under fire. Pay or be dropped from all my classes and shipped back. Oh, the horror! My resources were diminished and there was no place for me to go. The walls seemed to be closing in around me. So, I decided to take out my frustration on the One who didn’t seem to be worried. It didn’t look like He was doing his part. So, I prayed, lashing out:
Goddddd….! You brought me to this country for an adventure and you said you will take care of me. You said to excel and trust you. You said in your word that I am a lender and not a borrower and now I owe money. How can you say that? Are you going to pay this money or not? If you didn’t bring me to this country… tell me right now and make it clear and I will start doing things my way or go home. Look, Father, it's either you keep your promises or you don’t: it's either you are God or not. It’s either I believe you or not. Clearly, I am here, ain’t I? If you do not take care of my tuition, know that I have the right to and I will call you a LIAR! You keep your word!
Ohhh…if his majesty was not slow to anger, only the not-so-kosher mouse sharing my room knows what would have happened to me. That was not kosher at all. That night, I had a dream and in it, I heard a terrifying voice say, “Didn’t I say tribute is coming? Didn’t I say it’s all taken off? God is good and will not fail you.” But not long after that, around mid-October, I was refused entry into the cafeteria because my account was past overdue. I could no longer eat and students with account balances due such as myself had to prepare for the worst. Embarrassed and frustrated, I found a quiet room to cry in. There, I asked one last time for help. And while I prayed, a comforting whisper said, “What are you doing here!?”
Shocked, like an oblivious child, I waived my new receipt in the air and replied, “I am here praying for you to take care of this $$$ that I owe.”
Then the reply,
“Haven’t I told you to go talk to Mr. Scott and go see the good doctor?”
I remembered a dream I had a week earlier in which I was asked to go see Mr. Scott, the Director of Student Accounts.
So, I asked the obvious question, “When I go to see him, what should I tell him?”
To which the reply was, “Tell him, your Father says it’s all taken care.”
So, I asked, “When you say Father, who do you mean?”
To which the reply was, “If he (Mr. Scott) asks who your Father is, tell him the God of Elisha.”
To me, in the absence of my father, I have always thought of God as my father.
So, with some expressions, I said, “Let me get this straight. You want me to go to Mr. Scott’s office and tell him my Father said my tuition is all taken care of and if he asks who my Father is, I should tell him the God of Elisha. Do you know how dumb that sounds?”
To which I discerned the reply, “Yes, I know and that’s why I am sending you.”
What choice did I have? I could say no, but if I wanted to find out if this was for real and if I wanted to stay in school, I had to follow through. It was the final step, the narrow path. So, I left that room with the game table that sheltered my teary attitude and set out for the Business office.
“Mr. Scott!” I said, “About my tuition, my father says it’s all taken care of. So, you can allow me to eat now.” He replied, “Oh really? So, should I be expecting the money this week or so?” I just said, “Well…. yeah.”
Then, Mr. Scott looked up to demand the name of my father. After muttering a few, “I uh…. I uh…uhmmm…my dad’s name is uhhh…the Gggggg-o-ooo….uhhhmmm…it’s all taken care,” I ran out of the office and took a deep breath outside.
As I was panting out anxiety, in my heart, it felt as though i heard my father laughing and then discerned the voice say with excitement, “Wasn’t that fun?”
To which I replied, “It’s easy for you to say. I am the one down here doing this stuff, not you.”
Then, I was told, “Go and see the good doctor and talk to him.” I rode my broken bike with a flat tire to go find the Good Doctor as the still small voice said. After about an hour of waiting for him, I was led into the office of the Good Doctor. Our conversation went like this.
Conversation with the Good Doctor
Me: Sir, I know you helped me last time and I am thankful. But now, I need help and I came to ask you if you can help me with a tuition problem. A few dollars can go a long way. Hope you don’t mind me coming to ask you. Also, if you know people that can help, that’ll be great.
Good Doctor: (laughs and chuckles…) So, how much is it?
Me: About $6,014 with late fees and here is the receipt.
He takes the receipt, looks at it, and writes a number on a piece of paper. Then he returns it and says
Good Doctor: It’s all taken care of.
Me: …!!! That’s it? That’s all? You didn’t ask me any questions. That’s it?
Good Doctor: Hahaha…yes, that’s it.
Me: Sir…I will shine your shoes, mow your lawn, clean your dishes, take care of your wife…need any help around the house — call Ish. I am right here. I mean I don’t get it. It surprises me how you just wrote something down and you are taking care of it. Why!?
Good doctor is laughing at my reaction. Still, in amazement, I begin to leave his office in shock and then he speaks up…
Good Doctor: When do you graduate? You will need money for next semester, right? How much is it?
Me: (Stunned)…well, it’s like $8,900 and scholarships cover say $1,500…
Good Doctor: That’s taken care of too. I’ll get a couple of guys and we’ll take care of it.
Me: …!!!
Not sure what to do, I just stare at the good doctor
Good Doctor: You know what, your job is to get the grades. I will take care of the money. By the way is there anything else you need? Food, groceries?
Me: …!!! Uhhh….no…no I think I’m fine.
Good Doctor: Good. Let me know if there is anything else you need. We’ve got you covered.
Me: …! Ok. Thank you….
~Le fin/The end~
We’ve got you covered? We’ve got you covered? That sounded familiar. Where did I hear that from?
By the way, who was WE?
Plus, why did he seem so chill? Was he a guardian angel?
I walked out of the office stunned. I wondered if this was real. I planned on skipping class for the rest of the day to relax and think through what just happened. This still small voice I had been discerning in and around me, was it real? Was it God? Was this actually happening? I was not sure if I was hallucinating. As I reflected upon being the beneficiary of a miracle, the voice interrupted my thoughts and said,
“So Ish, how did it go?”
Well, I said, “I am so sorry for the arguments we had. It's not that I didn’t believe you. I totally did. I just had to know.”
He interjects with,
“I told you it was taken care of. I gave you a cow: you milk the cow. I put the good doctor in your life for a reason. I told you years ago before you took on this adventure that I had touched certain people and a certain man for you on this adventure. He is here to take care of you this way, to get you ready for the reason you are here. I have put your blessings in people and it is up to you to go get it. It is already out there. If you would only step out of your room and go get what has already been given to you. The Kingdom of God suffers violence, it is the violent of faith who take it by force…. Like I said, it’s all taken care of. It was up to you to step out of your room, believe, and go get it. Hence, I have given you the cow: it’s up to you to milk it.”
Feeling happy, I said apologetically, “Thank you. Thank you so much. You know Father in heaven, I feel stupid now because of the way I spoke to you. I am so sorry. I was rude and arrogant.” And with whispers, He replied “It’s ok. You are blessed and you are my son. Go back to school, your class is about to start.”
Well, apparently someone knew I was planning heavily to skip class #omniscient (a.k.a. Show off).
I received about $10,800 from the good doctor the following semester which covered my tuition and left extra cash for needs. And received more the following semester. He paid my way through college. The good doctor came to my school and paid the tuition himself, all at once the first time, in cash. Yep, I was debt-free the minute I went to school thanks to his Majesty. The good doctor eventually became one of the main donors to the establishment. It’s ironic because he was a department head in another college. By December 2014 when I graduated, guess who showed up taking lots of pictures and screaming my name? The good doctor.
Guess who bought me resources for study and sharing? The good doctor. Guess who led college groups and offered young men and women counsel? The good doctor. Guess who inspired him? The Good Lord, who else! If not for some people, where would some of us be?
But, before graduation day…
I went to visit some friends and the good doctor joined us. He told me and my friends the other side of the story. He said he was praying one day, wondering what to do with some extra cash he received from a very lucrative investment. Like never before, he received a clear and strange answer. The Good Doctor said he felt like God spoke and told him that a student with a specific amount would come to him and when this young fellow came, he (the good doctor) would know exactly what to do.
Weeks later, there I was in his office with an invoice in my hand with very specific figures. Seeing me, he said he knew exactly what he was supposed to do next.
How about them apples, huh.
Coming next, the strategy breakdown.
Cheers to a few good men.
