A Bag of Pennies
A few years ago, back when we were living below the poverty line, there were many days when our situation felt overwhelming. There's one day in particular that really stands out in my mind though.
We were expecting payment from a client within a few days, and we had a reasonable amount of food to last until that point. Beyond that, we didn't have any extras. I don't remember the specifics of what set us off, but for some reason, Eric and I decided to gather up all of the extra money we had, just to see how much there was. And you see that bag of pennies up there? That's what we came up with. The grand total was 27 cents and 1 Canadian dime.
I think we were both kind of speechless at this concrete proof of our financial lives. Instead of become depressed over our situation, we chose to be thankful and turn it all over to God once again.
We didn't touch that bag. It was some kind of safety net, all be it an extremely minuscule one. And it became of vivid reminder of the work ahead and the days behind.
That bag of pennies has remained untouched until this day. We no longer need the visual reminder on a daily basis, so I store it in my jewelry box. We pull it out at random times and reminisce about how far we've come and dream about what is still yet down the road.
Those pennies are a wonderful reminder of God's loving hand and providence. They are a reminder of hard work and dreams; of why we chose this path, and why we have chosen to live simply and frugally. They are a reminder of just how little value money has and the extraordinary wealth found in faith and family.
We plan on keeping this bag of pennies and sharing the story with our children. Someday, we will send them out of the house with their portion of these pennies in a bag of their own. And hopefully with that, they'll take away the understanding that God's faithfulness is never-ending and that in the long run, the payoff isn't nearly as important as the process.
What are some mementos that you've kept of previous stages in your life? Do you plan to share them with your children some day?
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10 comments:
Great post. I had chills reading it. I think many of us have been down that path in our marriages. It's terrific that you kept that bag of pennies as a concrete reminder of how far you've come with good faith. Thanks for sharing. :)
That is fantastic. Having things that we can remember the goodness of God by is crucial, because we will forget. To raise a pile of stones like the Israelites did, to remember what God has done on their behalf. Thanks for the lovely post.
Thank you for sharing! How true! What a good "visual" reminder of God's provision!
Thanks for sharing that touching story. For my own part, I can remember once giving 38 cents in the offering at church because that was all I had ...
What a beautiful post. The value of that bag...priceless. Sometimes it is those simple reminders that bring us closer to our Father. Many blessings.
I really enjoyed reading this - thanks for sharing!
Wow!! That is going to be a great tool to teach your kiddos about relying on God for everything.
http://elislids.blogspot.com/
Wow...what an inspiring and amazing story. It's the little things in life that remind us how good God is!
I REMEMBER ONCE I WAS DOWN TO MY LAST 13 CENTS. I DECIDED TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH THE LORD. AS I WAS REVIEWING MY MEMORY VERSES I CAME ACROSS A 10 DOLLAR BILL IN THE BACK OF MY VERSE PACK. I HAD PUT IT THERE MANY MONTHS EARLIER WHEN I WAS TRAVELLING FOR AN EMERGENCY AND FORGOT ABOUT IT. I'M THANKFUL THAT GOD DIDN'T FORGET.
This is one of the best posts I've ever read!!!! I recently included it in a top 10 list in a recent WFMW post. It was #1. I love this post!
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