When Larry got home from school, he said to his mom, “Guess what, Mom. George invited me to his birthday party. I wonder what I should buy for him?”
Larry‘s mom said, “You know what George likes. I’m sure you will find something. I can take you to the store tomorrow.”

Larry said, “Thanks, Mom. George is a really neat guy. Everybody in class likes him. I know his party is going to be a lot of fun.“

After Larry bought a gift and wrapped it, he said again, “I’m so excited that George invited me to his birthday party.”

Lisa said, “That’s great for you, Larry. But I’m wondering why none of my friends have invited me to a birthday party. I thought my friends in this school liked me, but maybe they don’t.”

Lisa’s mom said, “You need to be thinking the best about your friends. There may be a reason why their parents only let them invite a few friends. I’m sure you will be invited sometime soon.”

Lisa said, “I guess you’re right, Mom, but I’m still disappointed.”

All that week, Larry continued to talk about being invited to the party. The night before the birthday party, Larry’s dad said, “After dinner tonight, we can go out and watch the lunar eclipse, Larry. I know you wanted to see it.“

Larry said, “Thanks for remembering, Dad. I was so excited about the birthday party, I forgot that tonight was the night for the eclipse.”

Mr. Lewis said, “Lisa, you can go out and watch the lunar eclipse with us if you want to.“

Lisa said, “Thanks for asking, but I’m not really that interested in looking at it. Besides, I think it’s going to be cold tonight.”

Mr. Lewis said, “I forgot about that. How are you feeling, Larry?”

Larry responded, with a sniffle, “I’m fine. Really, Dad. I’m fine.”

Mr. Lewis said, “We may not be able to stay out the whole time. Let me know if you’re starting to have a hard time breathing.”

Larry said, “I really want to see this. I know I will be fine.“

As they were watching the eclipse, Larry said, “Dad, this is really cool. It looks like somebody’s starting to take a bite out of the moon.”

Mr. Lewis said, “Would you like to look at the moon through the telescope, now?“

Larry said with lots of enthusiasm, “Sure.”

As Larry looked through the telescope, he said, “You’re right, Dad. This looks really cool. It looks like there’s some bumps on the moon.”

Mr. Lewis said, “I enjoy looking at the moon through a telescope, and I knew that you would, too.”

After the moon was fully eclipsed, Larry’s dad said, “Son, we need to go in now. It’s getting cold and I don’t want you to get sick.“

Larry said, “But the rest of the eclipse is going to be cool, too. How long will it be before the moon starts to show up again?”

Larry’s dad said, “It’ll be too long, and it will also be late at night when it’s finished. We need to go in now.”

Larry responded very reluctantly, “OK, let’s go in.“

Larry coughed a little bit just as he was falling asleep, but he muffled the sound so that his parents would not hear it.

Mrs. Lewis said to her husband, “I hope Larry’s going to be OK for the party tomorrow. I think I heard him coughing.”

Mr. Lewis said, “Larry is always pushing himself, even when he isn’t feeling well. We’ll see how he is in the morning.“

Lisa was having a hard time falling asleep. In the middle of the night, she heard Larry coughing as he went to use the bathroom. She wondered if Larry’s cough would ruin his opportunity to attend the birthday party. Lisa thought about asking Jesus to heal her brother, but she didn’t.

After about a half an hour, Lisa heard a low voice calling her name, “Lisa, Lisa.” Lisa said to herself, “I must be going crazy. I thought I heard somebody calling my name.” A short time later, she heard the same thing. The voice did not sound like Larry or either one of her parents.

Lisa said very quietly, “God, are you really talking to me? I didn’t think you would be concerned about my problem. Larry told me that he prayed for my protection from the bear. That was important, so that I didn’t get eaten for lunch. But am I supposed to ask for my brother to get well, so he can go to the birthday party?”

As Lisa continued to think about her brother, her heart started to change. Lisa could see in her imagination how much fun Larry would have at the birthday party. She could also see how disappointed Larry would be if he missed the party.

Lisa prayed, “Jesus, please heal Larry from his coughing problem, so he can have fun with his friends.” Within a few minutes, peace came over Lisa and she fell asleep.

When the family was eating breakfast, Mrs. Lewis asked, “Are you feeling better this morning, Larry?”

Larry responded, “How did you know that I was feeling bad last night? I feel much better, and I have a lot of energy this morning.“

Mr. Lewis said, “We are glad you’re feeling better. You can go to school, and see how you feel during the day. If you’re still OK, you can go to the party tonight.“

Lisa said, “Something happened to me last night that may sound weird.”

Larry laughed, “If it happened to you, it probably was weird. “

Lisa said, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Mr. Lewis said, “Go ahead and tell us what happened, Lisa. We won’t think you’re weird.”

Lisa said, “You know that I have not been excited for Larry and the birthday party tonight. I am still upset because no one invited me to anything fun.”

Mrs. Lewis said, “Everyone has disappointments.”

Lisa said, “I knew that Larry was sick last night. I heard him coughing. I was hoping there would be a reason why he couldn’t go to the birthday party. Then, something unexpected happened in the middle of the night.”

Mrs. Lewis said, “I thought you were feeling OK. Are you getting sick, too?”

Lisa said, “I am not sick. But I couldn’t go to sleep. I heard something very strange in the middle of the night.”

Mr. Lewis asked, “What did you hear?“

Lisa was slow to respond, “Somebody called my name. It didn’t sound like Larry, and it didn’t sound like either of you, Mom or Dad.“

Larry said, “Yup, That is really weird.“

Mr. Lewis said, “Maybe it was God. He speaks in the middle of the night. Remember what the Bible says about Samuel. He heard God speaking.”

Lisa said, “Samuel was a special person. God had important things to tell him, and he needed to start when he was young.“

Mr. Lewis said, “That’s true. But if God wants to get our attention, He may do it in an unusual way even today.”

Larry said, “Well, that is definitely an unusual way.“

Lisa said, “After a short time, I started to think it was God talking to me, so I talked to Him. I asked Jesus if He would heal Larry’s cough, so that Larry could go to the birthday party.”

Larry said, “Wow. I didn’t think you wanted me to go to the party.”

Lisa said, “You’re right. But I realized that I was not being a loving sister. I changed my mind. I want you to go to the birthday party and have a good time.”

Larry said with excitement, “Thanks, Lisa.”

Mrs. Lewis said, “It looks like God is starting to give both of you a loving heart. That’s what He wants for all of us.”