Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were
invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home.
My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend.
The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the water-way,
and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening
went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse
into how the very wealthy live.

The husband's employer was quite generous as a host,
and took them to the finest restaurants.
Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge
in this kind of extravagance again,
so was enjoying herself immensely.

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 valuable.

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 smile.
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!

And God is patient...

~Author Unknown~