A Pineapple Miracle

My wife was hungry and all I had were two quarters.

Life is hard when you are a student. Life is even harder when you are newly wed, both poor college students, wife pregnant and no family near by.

As mentioned in my previous blog, my wife got pregnant three months into our marriage. At that time we were both in our first year of college. I don't want to sound like an ungrateful complainer so I won't say that we struggled but let's just say that we made it work.

I was paid $8.50 an hour at the time. Since I was still an alien to the U.S. I was only allowed to work 19 hours a week at most.

I put myself through college, so from the paycheck that I earned, $160 went to my tuition fund. I had to take out tithing. Textbooks needs to be paid and other required materials for classes and the rest would be to sustain me and my pregnant wife. 

If you did the calculation, there wasn't really any money left to pay for our apartment. That is where my wife comes in. She worked as a Residential Adviser (RA) for the housing department. At that time every RA were not given a regular paycheck. Instead they received free housing and a small stipend every semester.

I have to say, this was a great help for us.

During this time, my wife's pregnancy turned a bit complicated. She would throw up multiple times a day. She couldn't keep down any food she eats. She even throws up if she drinks water. The only thing she can hold down was ice.

Boy, did she chew those ice blocks all the time.

I know that most of you reading this might say that this could be normal morning sickness.

What I failed to mention was... this lasted the whole entire nine months. 

Some days when my wife woke up she would turn to me and say. "I just want to throw up already." The first time she said that to me I was like, "Why would you wish for that?" I was a bit shocked when she replied, "I always feel a bit better after I throw up."

Because of this condition, my wife lost a great amount of weight during her pregnancy.

I was sad...

but it was nothing compared to how I felt one Thursday night when my wife was hungry and all I had were two quarters.

She normally doesn't want any food at all. But this night, out of the blue, she said she wanted to eat pineapple. 

"This is good. Finally my wife is craving something other than ice. Maybe this would help her want to eat again and be able to hold it down." These were the thoughts that went through my head.

We were both in our bedroom when this happened. I was very happy so I got up and went to get my wallet which was in the living room. 

I opened my wallet just to check how much I had in there before I would leave to the store. I was devastated when all I saw were two quarters. I had thought that I took out $20 and put it in my wallet. I knew that there was nothing left in my bank card. 

I have to say... There is no worse feeling on the face of the earth than that of a husband when he can't provide food for his hungry wife.

What am I going to do? My wife is finally craving food and I can't even give it to her.

It was late at night and most of the neighbors were asleep already.

My wife was still in our bedroom so I turned around with my head down and went into the guest room. I closed the door, turned off the light and knelt down to pray.

I cried as I poured my heart out to God.

"Heavenly Father, I thank thee for a great opportunity to be alive today. I thank thee for the life that we have.

My wife is hungry Daddy and I can't even feed her. She wants a pineapple and all I have are two quarters! I beg thee please, please, please, send someone with a pineapple. I need a miracle Daddy please!! In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

I wiped my eyes and just knelt there on the floor pondering if He heard my prayers begging Him for help.

While I was thinking this, there was a knock on our door.

It was Maeva, one of our upstairs neighbors and a friend to my wife.

To my surprise, she was holding one ripe pineapple. She said, "Do you guys want this? I was thinking of you guys and thought to bring you a pineapple."

We talked for a little bit and then she left.

As I closed the door, I looked to my wife with the pineapple on my hand and tears running from my eyes and said, "He heard me and He answered."

I don't know how else to explain what happened other than to say that it was a miracle.

It was our pineapple miracle.

Others may say that this was a mere coincidence. But there's nothing that will ever sway me from believing that this was the works of a loving God who heard the desperate cry of a poor husband.

To some this might be nothing but I ask you to put yourself in my shoes. Try to feel what I felt and you would understand when I say that this was huge for me.

If you haven't tried praying, I suggest that you do. Whatever your circumstance may be, I promise you... He will come to your rescue just like how He did to mine.