March 18 – “The Penny”

We made a break for sanity this morning.  We took our grandkids – and Jachin's girlfriend Hannah (!) - on a ferry ride.  They were really excited.  We tossed rocks into the water while we waited.  We looked for dolphins.  We watched a huge tanker sail by.  We fed the seagulls.  We covered our ears when the horn blew.  We looked at the "broken city" they call Bolivar (at least what we could see of it from the boat.  All in all, a very tourist-y experience.   We met up at Christina's house for a McDonald's take out lunch.  I don't remember the last time I had a Big Mac.  Some things never change.   We have windows.  In boxes.  In the garage.   The deal for Mom's house is off because of me.  Because we were going to try to buy it the other interested party went somewhere else.  It's back on market again.  But we still have to get all the stuff out of the garage.  Maybe we have a little more time now.   I tried to get started on emptying out Mom's house and garage this afternoon.  I was by myself, so I couldn't move the two tables or the generator.  And I couldn't get very much at a time.  So I made a lot of trips across the street.  On the very first trip, I was carrying a couple of lawn chairs, and I noticed a penny on the street.  I've heard that superstition thing, "Find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you'll have good luck."  I didn't pick it up.  I was in a daze.  I guess it had to do with the fact that this would really be the last time we spent any time in "the old homestead."  I moved several cases of water to our house.  The penny was still there.  I moved the Christmas decorations that were in Mom's attic over to our new attic (the one that has a floor!).  The penny was still there.  I put the four wedding presents Nathan and April had stored in the attic into the truck to take to them.  The penny was still there.  I bagged up several rolls of toilet paper we were storing "for emergencies" and put them in the truck.  The penny was still there.  One trip some guys working on the house next door to Mom's got in my way – or I got in their way.  A matter of perspective.  They waited for me to walk by before resuming their task at hand.  As I passed, I heard one of them say, "That's a dime holding up a dollar."  I guess I was supposed to be the dime.  I wanted to say, "Hey, I'm working for free!"  Oh.  And the penny was still there.      I got to thinking about that penny.  It was there every time I passed.  I knew that I could count on it.  It would be there.  It was faithful.  Like God.  I left the penny there.  Maybe it would show "faithful" to someone else.   Psalms 146:5-6 says, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them — the Lord, who remains faithful forever."   Father, thank you for being faithful.  I sure need to count on you.  Amen.