Gò0dNews for Everyone
Picking Up Pennies by Barbara McGirt
M
y husband Jeff has a habit of picking up pennies.
hand, thinking of how excited Jeff would have been if he
Wherever we go, he is always on the lookout
had found them. Eventually, I stopped walking to count my
for pennies. He’s gotten pretty good at spotting
treasure. It totaled 23 cents! The dirty, sticky coins in my
them! It’s very rare that he finds a nickel, a dime, or a
hand didn’t amount to much, but as I thought about what
quarter, but when he does, he gladly picks those up too. But
they meant to Jeff, I too realized that they were much more
pennies…well, he finds lots of pennies.
than spare change. They were speaking a truth that so many
His joy in discovering these small treasures isn’t for their face value, but rather for the words engraved on each one: In God we
of us forget in the daily chaos and struggles of life. Maybe we’re experiencing a health crisis or a family emergency. Maybe our children are wayward or we’ve lost
trust. Each time
a loved one to a dreaded disease. Life can take some nasty
he finds a coin,
turns that we aren’t prepared for. We desperately need to be
it is a reminder
reminded that we can trust and depend on God. I thought
of God’s
about my own life as I looked over my pennies and began
faithfulness.
to personalize the message they preached. I have an aging
I recently went for a prayer
mother who is hundreds of miles away. In God I trust. At times, I feel my work is without real meaning. In God I
walk around my
trust. I was recently diagnosed as prediabetic. In God I trust.
neighborhood
Those pennies were reminding me that I can trust God with
and came across a
everything that was happening in my life. Far from being
penny. I thought
insignificant, the tiny copper coins in my hand were serving
of Jeff and picked
as a catalyst for my faith.
it up. A few feet
As my faith reignited, so too did my joy. I wondered
later, there was
how I could hold onto this feeling of complete trust in God. I
another one.
thought about taking the pennies home and putting them in
Then another.
a jar, where they would serve as a visible reminder to trust
It was almost
God in every situation. But then I realized that I’m not the
as if, instead of
only one who struggles to believe in difficult circumstances.
bread crumbs,
There may be someone walking down the same road who
someone had left
needs a bit of encouragement to trust God. As I headed
a trail of pennies
home, I dropped the pennies one by one along the way,
for me to follow.
leaving a trail of hope and a reminder for those who may
I held these
follow the same path: In God we trust.
24 // April 2020
About The Author
pennies in my Barbara McGirt worked in full-time pastoral ministry alongside her husband Jeff for over 20 years. She holds an MA in Ministry Studies from Lee University and currently serves as the graduate admissions coordinator for graduate programs in counseling at Lee University. Barbara is involved in children’s ministry at Mt. Olive Ministries in Cleveland, Tennessee.
