# The Last Matchstick

Do miracles truly happen? Let us see.

The incident goes back quite some time. In 1921, T. J. Kavanagh had traveled to France on business. After completing his work, while walking along the road toward Saint-Omer, it suddenly occurred to him that William Martin Brand, his childhood friend, had been killed somewhere in that very region during the First World War, back in 1917. He resolved then and there to find his friend's grave.

Through inquiries, he learned that the Longueurs British Military Cemetery lay only a mile and a half from where he stood. Without hesitation, he set off on foot toward the cemetery. But when he arrived, daylight had already faded and the cemetery gates were locked.

Nearby stood a small café. Upon hearing his story, a woman there said, "Go around to the back of the cemetery. The wall there is low; you can easily climb over and get inside."

With only a single box of matches in his pocket, Mr. Kavanagh entered the cemetery and began lighting match after match, searching among the grave markers for his friend's memorial stone.

Soon enough, he realized this would not work. Searching among so many graves, running his fingers over row after row of wooden plaques in such meager light, finding his beloved friend's name seemed utterly impossible. Defeated, he returned to the café, thanked the woman, and said, "It won't work today. I must go back."

Something moved the woman to say, "Wait a moment. Let me bring you a candle. My small daughter will go with you. She will hold the light while you search the graves."

Even with the girl and the candle, after searching long and hard without finding his friend's grave, he grew weary and finally said, "Come, child, let us go back. I cannot do this today. Perhaps another time..."

The two of them were walking back when suddenly the girl stopped and said, "Why don't we search just a little more?" To please the small child, Mr. Kavanagh took the candle from her hand and held it toward the cross of the grave right before where she stood.

He gasped. It was his friend's grave! There on the wooden plaque was the very name: William Martin Brand!

How did this strange thing come to pass? Was it mere coincidence? Or did God Himself hold the child fast at that spot and speak through her lips: "Why don't we search just a little more?"

Kavanagh was blessed. On that day, events unfolded around him in such a way that each one carried him past every obstacle toward his destination. Not everyone receives such fortune. So let us etch these simple words deep into our hearts and carry them to the end of our days... "Why don't we search just a little more?"... and let us remind ourselves of this question before we abandon our effort entirely.