A Beautiful and Inspiring Story About the Simplicity of a Child's Faith

Faith That Works Miraculous Change

(The Boy Who Searched for Money in a Fish’s Mouth)

"Everything is possible for one who believes." — Mark 9:23

There was once a poor widow called Mary who had an only son. Even at a young age, the boy realized how hard his mother worked and how much she struggled. To him, the biggest problem his mother faced was the constant lack of money.

The boy regularly attended Sunday School. One particular day, he was feeling very sad. All the children in the Sunday School were collecting a small amount of money for the Christmas celebration. The amount he had to give was small, but even that was something his mother could not afford. He sat through the class with a heavy heart.

That day, the Sunday School teacher explained the incident from Matthew 17, where Jesus tells Peter to go to the sea and cast a hook: "Take the first fish that comes up; and when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money. Take that and give it to them for me and you." After explaining this, they prayed.

When the boy returned home, he couldn't stop thinking about what the teacher had said. He made a firm decision. He began to save the small coins his mother occasionally gave him to buy biscuits. After a month, he had a handful of coins. He ran excitedly to the fish market. He approached a fishmonger and said, "Sir, I want a big fish!" and happily handed over his handful of coins.

The shopkeeper counted the money and said, "Son, if you want a big fish, you need to give much more than this. For the money you’ve given, you can only get a fish head."

After thinking for a moment, the boy replied, "That’s alright, sir. The head is the most important part anyway. Take my money and give me the fish head."

The shopkeeper wrapped a large fish head in an old newspaper and gave it to him. The boy ran home full of joy. "Mom! Mom! Come here! There is a miracle inside this package. Open it and see!" he cried.
His mother curiously opened the package. Seeing a fish head, she asked, "What is this, son?" He replied, "Mom, look inside the fish head!" They searched through the fish head thoroughly, but there was nothing there. Heartbroken, the boy fell onto his bed crying, "Jesus has disappointed me!" When his mother gently questioned him, she learned about what he had heard in Sunday School and why he had bought the fish head.

The mother tried to comfort him, but he continued to weep. Leaving her son to rest, she went to the kitchen to clean up the pieces of the fish head.

She gathered the scraps and went to wrap them in the newspaper the fish had come in. It was then that she glanced at the paper. She was shocked to see her own name printed there. Yes, it was truly her name.
It turned out that she was a distant relative of a wealthy man. The wealthy man’s lawyer had placed an advertisement. The man had no heirs and, before passing away, had written a will stating: "After my death, all my properties should go to this specific woman, my distant relative." Since no one knew where she lived, the lawyer had placed an advertisement in the newspaper saying: "A huge inheritance awaits you; please contact me."

Sadly, she was so poor she couldn't even afford to buy a newspaper. That specific newspaper had eventually reached a scrap shop, then the fishmonger, and finally, God ensured it reached the hands of that very woman by being wrapped around a fish head.

The mother’s heart overflowed with joy. She kissed her son and explained, "My son, just as you believed, a miracle has happened through the fish head!"

If you believe, the Lord will surely do great things in your life as well. "For with God nothing shall be impossible." — Luke 1:37

Food for Thought:
"Faith is the sledgehammer that shatters all our opposing circumstances."
- Taken from the Tamil book "100 Witnesses and the Christian Living" by Brother. Kavivalyam David.