Every year there are many claims of miraculous events that occur throughout the world. People claim to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ in many strange places. Accounts of visions on walls, in food, and even in dirty bathroom sinks are well documented. Here in the small town of Bakersville, California, a miracle has occurred that has made believers out of even the most hardened atheists.
The miracle reportedly occurred sometime between 4:00 PM Friday, and 1:00 PM Sunday of last week. Bill and Rhonda Jenkins had departed for a weekend at Cape Cod, and left their seventeen year old son Brian home to watch the house. According to their statement, they left strict orders that there were to be no parties while they were gone.
When the Jenkins returned home from their trip, what they witnessed was shocking, to say the least. The house was in shambles, and Brian was laying on the floor in a daze, along with many of his friends. “We didn’t quite know what to think,” said Rhonda. “My first reaction as a mother was to make sure the kids were all right. I’ve never seen Brian quite like this before. When I was finally able to snap him out of his daze, he held his head and began babbling incoherently. All I could make out was, ‘Oh my God.’ I had this feeling that he was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what it was.”
The message that Brian was trying to communicate was not to become clear until after the house had been cleaned up. Mr. Jenkins went to fix himself a drink from the liquor cabinet in their basement. Only then did the truly miraculous events that occurred at their house became apparent. Bill told us what happened: “I went downstairs to make myself a vodka and tonic. When I opened up the bottle of vodka, I didn’t notice the usual aroma coming from the bottle. I thought that was strange, but then I took a drink.” Bill realized with a start that the bottle was not filled with liquor, but with water!
Clearly shaken, but not stirred, Bill opened another bottle, this time Jack Daniel’s bourbon. To his astonishment, that bottle was also filled with water. Further investigation revealed that every single bottle in the cabinet was filled with water.
When Bill told Rhonda his discovery, she immediately realized what had transpired. “I grew up a practicing Catholic, so it wasn’t too hard to figure out. I remembered a story in the Bible in which Jesus changed water into wine. When I remembered Brian’s words earlier, ‘Oh my God’, I was able to piece the puzzle together.”
When asked if there could be another possible explanation, Rhonda was quick to dismiss the theory. “Everyone is too skeptical nowadays. People can’t believe that a miracle occurred, even when the evidence is staring them in the face. Someone was even so rude as to insinuate that my son and his friends must have drank the liquor. That’s impossible, my husband and I have clearly marked lines on all the bottles to ensure that our son won’t bow to peer pressure. The level of water in the bottles was exactly at the line in each case.”
The only question left unresolved was why Brian’s friends were also at the house. However, Brian has the answer. “See, we were all on our way to go see a movie, and um…we needed to stop at my house for my wallet…yeah, my wallet. I don’t remember anything between that time and my mom waking me up on Sunday. I must have gone unconscious when Jesus came down from heaven and changed the liquor to water. Yeah, that’s what must have happened.”
Many local clergy members have embraced the miracle as a sign that God wants to make his presence felt in a time where sex and violence rule the airwaves. Area priest Father Jim McGaffney believes that this is a true act of God. “There’s no doubt about it, it’s a miracle all right. The fact that Brian passed out at the awesome sight of our Lord and Savior is the detail that really clinches it for me.”
Bill and Rhonda are excited about the fact that they are now only two more miracles away from sainthood. “We don’t want to get our hopes up, but we feel that with one miracle under our belt, we now have the inside track on all our friends,” said Bill. They are not letting the fame go to their heads, even with the media attention. The family will appear on Oprah in two weeks and will be featured in the Catholic Church’s upcoming “Got Miracle?” ad campaign.
Brian tells us that the attention is not a big deal. “Everyone knows who I am now, which is pretty cool. It’s kind of annoying when everyone asks me to autograph their bibles though.” Brian’s plans for the future include a “Jesus Party” in three weeks when his parents go to the Eagles concert. More immediate plans include helping his girlfriend Mary see God on Friday night.
