Are you sure?
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A sure thing
You don't have to win, or earn, God's gifts.
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.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
August 25, 2003 issue
View Issue-
Not a chance in the world
Warren Bolon
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Letters
with contributions from Anni Ulich, Miah Bumpas, Jane Partis McCarty, Linda Vara, Jeanette Roche
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items of interest
with contributions from Richard Dymond, Jan Norman, Matt Sedensky, Howard Manly
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Let God direct your life
By Ron Ballard
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No longer controlled by allergies
By Judy M. Little
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Trusting that God is close at hand
By Ann Stewart
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GOD'S CONTROL of the environment
By Kim Shippey Senior Writer
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Finding an end to war—then and now
By Jon Harder
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A sure thing
By Ginny Luedeman
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They have their own relationship with God
By Cali McClure
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A tithe of children
By Bettie Gray, Staff Editor
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'God will guide us'
By Bill Dawley Senior Managing Editor
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Healing of fear brings physical healing
Wendy Rankin