Here is a short story I wrote awhile ago for a contest. It is called Mandy's Miracle.

                                                                      Mandy’s Miracle



    



    Mandy Kline sat in the waiting room in the hospital. Her mother was giving birth to a baby. It was several months before the due date but for some reason the baby had decided to come out early. 8 year old Mandy didn’t know why.

    Suddenly Mandy’s father came into the room. Mandy looked at him expectantly. Sitting down next to her brother Will, he started to tell them something. Mandy didn’t understand most of it but she did manage to grasp that her mother was all right but the baby wasn’t.

    Phrases kept swirling in her mind. “Baby is dead. No more children.” Mandy started to cry.




    
    Mandy sat reading an article. Suddenly she threw the magazine down with a sigh.

    “What’s the matter?” her dad asked, looking up.

    “All I ever see in these magazines are happy stories about families with kids.”

    “I thought you liked those stories,” her father said.

    “It depends on what mood I’m in,” Mandy replied, pushing her dark-brown hair off of her face.

    It had been four years since her mother had lost the baby. Mandy could now comprehend the full implications of what her father had said that day. She understood the awful truth that her mother could no longer give her a baby brother or sister, the thing Mandy longed for most.

    

    
    Mandy left the room and entered the kitchen where her mother was busy preparing dinner.

    “Hi, Mandy,” she said. “Can you grate the cheese for me?”

    “Sure Mom.”

    As she worked Mandy’s mind went back to the magazine she had been reading and her face sank into a frown.

    “What are you thinking about?” her mom asked.

    “I was just thinking how nice it would be to have a baby brother or sister,” Mandy said.

    Her mother looked at her sharply. “You know that is impossible.”

    Mandy was quiet for a moment and then said, “You know I was just reading in the Above Rubies magazine about a family who adopted some children.”

    She was trying to sound casual but hoping her mother could take a hint.

    “That sounds like a nice story,” her mother replied.
    
    Mandy tried a little harder. “It’s really the responsibility of Christians like us to adopt and care for orphans and-”

    “Mandy, don’t be silly. Adoption would be out of the question for us. It’s much too expensive and I’m perfectly happy with the family I have right now.”

    “And besides,” Will said, entering the room, “A little kid would drive you crazy. It would cry and get in your stuff and annoy you.”

    Mandy was becoming upset. “Why were you listening?” she cried. “And a baby wouldn’t annoy me. Just because you are sixteen you think you know everything.”

    “Mandy,” her mother said reprovingly. “Is that the way God wants you to talk to your brother?”

    Mandy felt ashamed of her behavior and apologized. When she had finished grating the cheese she went to her room and threw herself onto her bed.

    “Doesn’t anyone understand how much this means to me?” she thought as tears came to her eyes. “Will I ever get a baby sister or brother?”



    That night as Mandy lay in bed she started to pray. First she prayed for her family and asked that God would help her to be a good sister and daughter.

    Then her mind turned to her longing for a baby sister or brother. She started to pray. “Dear Lord, you are the only one who understands how I feel. Please God, it’s so hard to go through each day seeing babies in the store and having to come home to nothing. I feel like I am going crazy with this longing.”

    Mandy closed her eyes and imagined the warmth of a little body pressed against her and little hands grasping her fingers. But the mirage was only there for a moment and she was left with an irrepressible yearning.

    Mandy’s eyes flew open and she screamed into her pillow. “WHY? Why, Lord?” She curled into a ball and started to sob.






    The next morning when Mandy rose she felt irritable. She spoke sharply to her brother at breakfast and pouted whenever her mother asked her to do something.

    By the end of the day Mandy was frustrated and tired. She had wasted a lot of time daydreaming and had finished her schoolwork late. Nothing seemed to be going right. She was fed up with everything and everyone.

    That night as Mandy lay in bed she felt shame and remorse for her attitude that day. She thought, “Oh, why do I have to be so horrid? Why can’t I just forget about this and go on with life?” She rolled over and started to pray.

    “Dear God, please help me. I feel so miserable. I know I should be content but I’m not. Please God, I want a younger sibling so much. Why can’t I have one?”

    Suddenly she realized, “I should be content with what I have. I’m letting this longing consume me to the point that I can’t even appreciate the family that the Lord has given me.”

    She rose from her bed and knelt on the floor. She poured out her heart to God, giving Him her desires. She asked forgiveness for not being content with her family. She asked that He give her a love and appreciation for them.

    Mandy rose from her knees with a wonderful peace. The longing was not completely gone but it had become bearable and less important.



    The next morning when Mandy went downstairs to begin her schoolwork she went to her mother and gave her a hug.

    “Mom, I am sorry I was disrespectful to you yesterday,” she said. “Will you forgive me?”

    “Yes, of course, Mandy. Thank you for apologizing.”

    “I love you, Mom.” With that Mandy skipped off to apologize her brother.


    A few weeks later on a Saturday morning the Kline family was sitting around the table eating breakfast.

    Suddenly Mandy’s father cleared his throat. Mandy looked up from the toast she was busy devouring.

    “Kids, I want to discuss something with you. Your mother and I have been praying about this for awhile and have decided that the Lord is leading us to adopt a baby.”

    Mandy choked on her toast and started coughing as the front legs of her chair came down with a bang. She stared at her father wide-eyed. She had no idea that her parents had even been considering adoption.

    “I want to know first if you kids are willing to adopt. We have to agree to this as a family,” he continued.

    Offering a silent prayer of thanks, Mandy nodded. Will hesitated for a moment and Mandy sent a pleading look in his direction. He grinned at her and assented to the plan.

    

    After breakfast Mr. Kline called an adoption attorney and requested the paperwork needed to begin the adoption process.

    Mandy couldn’t believe it. She had given her desire to God with no idea of what He would do. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that He would lead her parents to adopt. “He is so gracious,” she thought as she washed the dishes.

    A few months later Mandy was again waiting expectantly for a child to enter the world. This time she and Will stayed home while their parents were at the hospital.     

    Suddenly the phone rang and she rushed to answer it. But Will was faster than her and reached it first.

    “Hello,” he said, grinning at Mandy.

    “Yes.” There was a pause. “Great, I’ll tell her. Bye.”

    “Well?” Mandy asked.

    “It’s a girl. She was born an hour ago.”

    “How big is she? What does she look like?” Mandy asked.

    He shrugged. “Dad didn’t say.”

    “You men! You never think about details,” Mandy sighed.

    “Well, you will see for yourself soon enough. Dad is coming to get us. Then you and Mom can talk over every precious detail.”

    Mandy threw her slipper at him and smiled.

    
    
    A few hours later Mandy entered a hospital room. There she saw her mother sitting in a chair holding a little bundle.

    Mandy quietly approached the chair and looked at the little baby. “Do you want to hold her?” her mother asked. “We are going to call her Abigail.”

    When Mandy wordlessly sat down and held out her arms, Mrs. Kline placed the precious bundle in her arms.

    Mandy gazed into the little face and smiled. Abigail had fine blonde curls that were barely visible against her fair skin. As Mandy was examining her, Abigail’s blue eyes opened and stared straight into Mandy’s.

    Mandy hugged her close and knew that she would love Abigail for the rest of her life. Yes, there would be hard times, times when they would quarrel. But this precious baby had been given to her by God. She would never forget the miracle that God had given her.