Dr. Mark, a well-known cancer specialist, was once on his way to an important conference in another city where he was going to be granted an award in the field of medical research.
He had worked long and hard on his research and felt his efforts deserved the award.
However, two hours after the plane took off, it made an emergency landing due to a technical snag. Since the next flight was after 10 hours, someone suggested to him to rent a car and drive himself down to the conference city, which was only four hours away.
Dr. Mark rented a car and started his journey. However, the weather suddenly turned into a heavy storm. The rain made it very difficult for him to see outside the car and he missed a turn he was supposed to take.
After two hours of driving, he was convinced he was lost. Driving in the heavy rain on a deserted road, feeling hungry and tired, he frantically began to look for any sign of civilization. After some time, he finally came across a small tattered house. Desperate, he got out of the car and knocked on the door.
A lady opened the door. He asked her if he could use her telephone. The lady told him that she didn’t have a phone and asked the doctor to come inside and wait till the weather improved.
Hungry, wet and exhausted, the doctor accepted her kind offer and walked in. The lady gave him hot tea and something to eat. She told him that he can join her for prayer. But, Dr. Mark smiled and said that he believed only in hard work and told her to continue with her prayers.
Sitting on the table and sipping the tea, the doctor watched the woman in the dim light of the candles as she prayed next to what appeared to be a baby crib.
The doctor asked her what exactly she wanted from God and enquired if she thought God will ever listen to her prayers. He further asked about the small child in the crib for whom she was apparently praying.
The lady gave a sad smile and said that the child in the crib is her son who is suffering from a rare type of cancer and there is only one Doctor Mark who can cure him but she doesn’t have money to afford his fee. Moreover, Dr. Mark lives in another far-off town. She said that God has not answered her prayer yet but she was sure he will create some way out one day. And added that she will not allow her fears to overcome her faith.
Stunned and speechless, Dr Mark was in tears. He whispered, God is great and recollected the sequence of events. ….there was malfunction in the plane, a thunderstorm hit him, and he lost his way; and all of this happened because God did not just answer the lady’s prayer but also gave him a chance to devote some time to poor, hapless people who have nothing but rich prayers.
Source: http://www.ramakrishnamath.in
Image: US postage stamp issued in 1947 commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the American Medical Association (AMA). Courtesy: Wikipedia