All For A Nickel

I was in a mall the other day, sitting on a bench, when I saw her. It was the kind of bench that uses the side of a huge indoor planter as a back. The scene was rather grim, as the plants had not been installed yet. It was a wide swath of boxed-in soil with a small pool in the center.

I spent my time writing in my journal and watching passers-by. Voices behind me drew my attention. I turned on my bench and glanced to the other side of the box of dirt.

A pair of eyes was visible just above the wooden lip of the planter, filtered through a thin wisp of dark blond hair. The bangs zigzagged across the brows with the unmistakable look that only a four year old with her own scissors can achieve.

The brown eyes were not focused on me. They were glittering with delight at the fountain in the center of the small sea of dirt. It was a single stream of water arcing up and across the basin from a tube clamped to the side. It might have been Niagara Falls if I were to judge from the size of those eyes gazing so intently at it.

Her father was standing next to her. His voice had drawn my attention. He was explaining about the "Wishing Well". I had been walking around and sitting beside it for an hour and had completely missed the wealth of coins that lay glimmering in the bottom of the pool.

He bent over and, reaching under her arms, lifted her up to kneel on the edge of the planter. Chubby cheeks appeared, smeared with the faint remains of an unknown snack, rosy from the crisp wind blowing outside the mall. A bright pink jacket rose into sight.

If I thought her eyes could get no bigger, I was proven wrong. She peered down into the water's treasures in silence.

I smiled at the father as I saw him reach into his pocket. He smiled back quickly. He was involved in a moment of magic with his little girl. He presented her with a nickel.

"Make a wish and throw it in," he whispered.

The seriousness of this task was instantly recognized. Two little hands reached out to grasp the coin tightly lest it somehow slip away.

Instantly, the eyes closed, the nose scrunched up and the hands brought the coin up to the level of her face. The intense thought needed to make a wish come true, as everyone knows, can only occur with the eyes closed as tightly as possible.

What would it be? I wondered if it would be every little kidís dream of owning a pony. On the other hand, would it be for a particularly coveted toy on the next birthday? How far ahead can a four-year-old plan? Does one need to have a hold put on the position of "Fairy Princess" she is longing to grow up to fill?

Could this wish be advanced preparations for a dream wedding to her own "Prince Charming"? Can she be thinking ahead to the day she has a little one of her own?

I wonder what concerns may have been going through her mind while she was making her wish: Is a nickel sufficient currency to cover wishes of this potential magnitude? How tightly does one have to hold a nickel to turn it into an actual wish?

And how long does one have to wish on it before one sends their nickel out into the depths of this mysterious pool to be turned into an actual "Dream Come True"?

The answers are as follows: It seems that a nickel is plenty. You have to hold it pretty darn tight. And apparently five seconds of wishing will do.

I did not notice if she opened her eyes before she threw the nickel. Her hands were clutching it in front of her face. As soon as she began to move her hands for the throw I was watching the water.

I wanted to hear the plop of the coin as it hit the water, to see the water droplets jump and ripple as the coin sank to the bottom ready to work its miracle, to look up and see the wonder in this little one's eyes as she realizes that her wish just might come true just this minute.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to do any of these things.

The coin flew through the air, sailed past the fountain and, with a great deal of disrespect for the traditional wish making conventions, plowed a furrow in the dirt of the foliage-free planter. It came to rest six inches from my hand.

I heard her father say, "Uh-oh. Where did it go?"

I looked up in time see a look of unspeakable grief pass across her tiny features. The agony of knowing that anything had been possible, that the shining chariot that was her wish was turning back into a pumpkin before her very eyes, that all of her young hopes and dreams may have just been shattered, was plainly visible in that instant.

I could not bear it.

Leaning forward, I brushed through the dirt. I pulled the coin out and held it up, glittering in the light coming down from the skylights above us.

Her eyes grew large again. I flipped the coin with my thumb. As it flew toward the pair, the father reached out with both arms. One hand was to catch the nickel. The other was to catch his daughter, who was leaning too far forward in her excitement to have her wish back...

"Thanks." There was genuine sentiment in that one word from this man. He handed the coin once again to his little girl.

A simple closing of the eyes would not be sufficient after the near disaster of seconds earlier. Now, nothing would do but to completely eclipse vision with both hands.

She then carefully dropped the nickel into the fountain. Hand in hand they left the pool, weaving in and out of the crowds.

In the book of Jeremiah, the Bible says this: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' "(Chapter 29, Verse 11)

This promise from the Lord is as true today as it was when He spoke it to His exiled people in Jeremiah's day.

I learned that lesson from this adventure.

I have a Heavenly Father. He picks me up and helps me kneel on the edge of a world filled with possibilities. He wants my hopes and dreams to become reality. He gives me nickels in the form of opportunities.

Jesus is nearby. He reaches down and brushes off my dreams when I fail. When I fail to reach a goal or overshoot the mark, He is ready to let me try again.

The Holy Spirit is ready to lead me through the bustle of life. I have only to trust in Him and hold on tightly.

And I learned this all for a nickel.

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Contributed by Michael R. Wilson