Article August 25, 2003 Issue

A sure thing

You don't have to win, or earn, God's gifts.

By Ginny Luedeman

THE CARNIVAL WAS IN TOWN. My girlfriend and I decided to take my five-and-a-half-year-old son so he could go on some rides. I put my baby daughter in her backpack, packed a lunch, and off we all went for a day of fun. It was a beautiful fall day. My friend and I loved watching the children whirling around on the rides, and we all laughed at the clowns.

As we wandered away from the ride area, a barker in a game booth caught my attention. He urged me to take a chance on the nickel toss. If I won, I'd have a big teddy bear. If I was lucky—or skilled—enough to toss a nickel into the circle, maybe I could win the bear. My husband and I couldn't afford to buy anything like that, and I would have loved to give one to my little son. But our budget was so tight that we had to count every penny. Even just my going to the carnival was a stretch.

I looked at the nickel in my hand. It was the last one I had with me. Then I looked up at the big stuffed animal hanging overhead, and I impulsively flung the nickel at the circle. But it just rolled off the table and into the side pocket to join the nickels tossed by other hopeful parents.