As the three of them were about to enter an
exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss
was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her
husband.
He stopped suddenly, looking down on the
pavement for a long, silent moment.
Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass
him. There was nothing on the ground except a
single darkened penny that someone had
dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still
silent, the man reached down and picked up the
penny.
He held it up and smiled, then put it in his
pocket as if he had found a great treasure.
How absurd! What need did this man have for a
single penny? Why would he even take the time
to stop and pick it up?
Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at
her. Finally, she could stand it no longer.
She causally mentioned that her daughter once
had a coin collection, and asked if the penny
he had found had been of some value.
A smile crept across the man's face as he
reached into his pocket for the penny and held
it out for her to see. She had seen many
pennies before! What was the point of this?
"Look at it." He said. "Read what it says."
She read the words "United States of America."
"No, not that; read further."
"One cent?" "No, keep reading."
"In God we Trust?"
"Yes,"
"And?"
"And if I trust in God, the name of God is
holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I
see that inscription. It is written on every
single United States coin, but we never seem
to notice it! God drops a message right in
front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I
to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I
stop to see if my trust IS in God at that
moment. I pick the coin up as a response to
God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time,
at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I
think it is God's way of starting a
conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is
patient and pennies are plentiful!
When I was out shopping today, I found a penny
on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up,
and realized that I had been worrying and
fretting in my mind about things I cannot
change. I read the words, "In God We Trust,"
and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message.
It seems that I have been finding an
inordinate number of pennies in the last few
months, but then, pennies are plentiful!