A Shrine of Miracles

by Robert W. Pinkerton

Posted January, 1998

I'd like to tell a story
It's a happy episode
Of a miracle that happened
To a family down the road

They lived a block or two away
It doesn't matter where
A man, his wife, and three young kids
With one in a wheelchair

They'd go for walks and wave to us
We'd smile and say "hello"
Why one was in a wheelchair
For years we did not know

Another neighbor said the boy
Was born with bones deformed
They took him to a clinic where
Some tests had been performed

The doctors who examined him
Said "There are indications,
Your boy may some day walk if he
Has certain operations"

Said one who diagnosed him
When the boy was only four
"It may cost ninety thousand,
If we help him, maybe more"

When they were told about the cost
They knew it couldn't be
Those people struggled just to feed
And clothe their family

"Why, it would take a miracle"
Said his father, "Who could spend
The money for such treatments
That would cause his bones to mend?"

"Our hopes were all for nothing"
Cried his mother in despair
"It looks like he will spend his life
Inside that old wheelchair"

Now a man his father worked with
Was a member of the Shrine
He said, "We'd like to help him
And it won't cost you a dime"

"The hospitals," he told him
"That the Shriner's operate
Are well equipped and proven
So, why don't we set a date?"

Within a month their child
Was examined and accepted
Then sent for consultation
Where the Shriners were connected

With surgery and treatments
And the many years of care
The best of specialists worked with
The famous doctors there

His every cost was paid for
His meals and transportation
As well as for his parents
There were free accommodations

Today that boy is seventeen
Ten years of therapy
And at the cost of Shriners
He now walks like you and me

He plays with kids outside our door
He runs and rides his bike
I'm awed as I remember what
Before, his life was like

And he's just one of thousands
Of that burned or crippled hoard
Of children who need treatments
Their parents can't afford

The Shriners gave a new life
To this crippled boy, but then
I know it was a miracle
From God through hands of men

I've always known that Shriners
Seemed to have a lot of fun
But I had never realized
The noble work they've done

And since I was a witness
To this miracle divine
I pray each night for blessings
On this boy, and on The Shrine

Robert W. Pinkerton (3/15/25 - 12/27/94) was a past master of Collingwood Lodge and a regular at meetings for 25 years. He was the First Grand Tall Ceder of The Toledo Forest of Tall Ceders of Lebanon and a 32nd Degree Mason in the Scottish Rite. He was also a past chief of Clan McGregor #271 Order of Scottish Clans. As a Shriner, he was director of the Craftsman Unit in 1985, a member of the Legion of Honor, former Captain of the Guard, and membership chairman for two years.

In 1994, he was made an Honorary Member of The A-Team which directly serves the Potentate.

A collection of Robert's poems can be found at The Feast Of Life, an e-m@son Web Ring site constructed in his memory by his daughter and son-in-law, Sandi & Mike Copeland.