God-Sightings
Two years ago Tracy and I were in that awkward space of unemployment. We had the highest mortgage payment we had ever incurred and could not see any job opportunities on the horizon. One day Tracy came home and said that she had found a penny on the ground. Not so unusual, especially today when the penny has lost all value and even worse, it costs more to make a penny than the value we get from it. We even have one friend who used to throw them away because their value was questionable
I know I have written about this before but it bears repeating. Tracy interpreted the finding of a penny as a symbol of God’s provision. Over the next two years, during Tracy’s cancer journey, we continued to find orphaned pennies. Like anyone else, we needed constant reminders that God would take care of us. We were not unlike the ancient Israelites who one day would experience God’s miraculous provision of the parting of the Red Sea, manna in the desert or water from a rock, and then the next day would complain to Moses, “Why did you bring us out in this desert to die, were there not enough graves in Egypt?”
I began to keep my eye out for ‘random’ pennies. Two recent instances stand out: I had recently moved to Richmond and got up early one Saturday morning to run the “Park Run,” a free 5k every Saturday at parks around the world. As I was waiting to begin, I looked down in the grass and found…..that’s right, a penny. I was now conditioned to interpret a lone penny as our Father’s care for me in my new home. Secondly, I was on a mission trip to Moldova out beyond the city and civilization and I was cooling myself in a nearby stream. And there it was, not a penny, but a close equivalent in Moldovan currency laying amongst the rocks.
Lately pennies have been scarce. I am in the midst of starting a new business and was attending a conference in Dallas,TX. During a break I decided to get outside and go for a walk. As I was approaching an intersection there was what appeared to be a homeless man pacing erratically and speaking loudly, to no one in particular. As I got closer to him, I had already chosen to ignore him and quickly walk by, but as I drew up within a few feet he quickly turned toward me, looked me straight in the eye and held out, between his thumb and index finger….a penny. (The image is not actually him but an AI created version based upon my description.).
Don’t we often do this? We know we have needs and we say we have faith in God and then when He shows up, we wrongly interpret the situation. To not take the penny is akin to saying to God, “Thank you, but your ways are too weird and questionable, I’ll figure it out my own way.” Or we attribute circumstances to coincidence not recognizing that God, in His sovereignty, is in the habit of not merely invading this world, but living alongside and in people and circumstances around us. Maybe showing up in this way was not so unusual but we are not accustomed to God-sightings.
No, I didn’t go back and look for him. From Scripture it appears that God does not repeat events. One world-wide flood, one man(Solomon) receiving supernatural wisdom or one instance of Jesus walking on water. As I thought about what had happened the lesson sunk in. God is our Jehovah Jireh (our provider). He loves us. And like the father of the prodigal boys, He is always waiting for us with open arms.
Last night I saw him. Dressed the same and wandering the streets. Will God use him again? I know I will keep my eyes open for more God-sightings. What will He do next? Will He get tired of my doubts and misgivings? Will He grow weary of my complaining? Thankfully, no.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.”
(Isaiah 40:28)
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