This month’s free read is a short story Isabella wrote in 1916 about the power of faith.
Philip Kendall dreams of going to college, but he has no way to pay for it. His only hope is to convince his long-estranged—and extremely parsimonious—aunt and uncle to lend him the money.
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Isabella Alden 
Spoiler alert! Dear Jenny, thank you so much for sharing the story, it was delightful! I cannot get enough of her short stories, they are always such a lift! But, Jenny, I’m confused. How did the 500 become 1000? Is that meant to be interpreted as a miracle? Thanks in advance for any insights/speculation on this! Warmly, Karen
My thought was the money was meant as either a miracle or a reward. Philip said God “as good as promised me” he would go to college, “but I did not believe it; I had to have the proof.” I interpreted the ending to mean that once Philip learned to let go of his expectations and trust God to make it happen instead of his own efforts, he was rewarded with more than the minimum. Isabella didn’t reference a specific Bible verse, but the story made me think of Hebrews 10:35: “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!” (NLT) What do you think? —Jenny
I think it’s got to be a miracle! If you have a envelope full of $500 and nobody touches that envelope or add anything to it because the old couple were certainly talking about the fact that that’s all they had, then God must’ve multiplied the money. Which is an amazing story, especially for Isabella, she doesn’t usually traffic in those kind of out and out miracles. It reminds me a bit of the story of the young orphan boy who watched a cabinet door mysteriously close before his eyes when he was thinking about looking at test questions. I hope you will bless us with many other of Isabella’s short stories!
There are a lot more of Isabella’s wonderful stories to come! Have a blessed week, Karen! —Jenny