Morning Devotional

March 21, 2004

"Pennies From Heaven" 

by Don Emmitte

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And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, "Godly people give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be forgotten." For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. (2 Corinthians 9:8-10 NLT),

One of the ladies at work told me a great story last week. Her morning routine includes stopping at the local convenient store to pick up the daily news. One morning not long ago, the convenience of the convenient store proved inconvenient to the folks stuck in line behind two small boys. As she approached the counter to pay the attendant, she noticed the two little boys standing at the front of the line, a line that was growing longer by the minute. The young man behind the counter was clearly agitated with the boys as his voice rose above the morning chatter in the store and he said to them, "Look, you guys need nineteen cents more to pay for this candy. If you don't have it, you don't get it. Now, what are you going to do?"

She watched, as the small boys seemed to shuffle from one foot to another without uttering a word, just staring at the attendant, their wide eyes filling with tears. The folks waiting impatiently in line began to complain loudly, "Let's go fellas!" Suddenly, she felt overwhelmed to intervene on their behalf. "I've got the nineteen cents," she shouted above the noise and commotion. "Take this dollar for my paper and keep the change towards their candy." The attendant seemed relieved to have the matter settled. Everyone in the line turned to eyeball the loud-mouthed lady with the exception of the two small boys who quickly snatched the candy and exited the store.

She handed over the dollar, smiled at the attendant and left. As she made her way to her car, a small voice called out to her. She turned to see one of the boys peering from around the corner of the building. "That was pretty cool!" He was gone. It was a "thank you" of sorts and she was content to think that she would be the topic of their small conversation that morning. She was the "cool lady" who saved the day by paying for their candy in an otherwise hectic and uncaring world. 

By the time that she arrived at the dealership, she was basking in her good deed and wanted to share the story with her coworkers. When she finished telling the story to some of the people at the service counter, one of the customers turned towards her and said, "I like to do little things like that, too. When I stop to get my morning coffee, everyday, I place a penny in the parking lot or on the sidewalk, heads-up. Sometimes I sit in my car and watch to see if anyone finds it. It always makes people smile and it makes my day, too. I've been doing it for years now."

She couldn't speak. It does make you smile to find a penny heads-up in the parking lot. In fact she had been one of the recipients of such a gift. She shyly admitted that she hadn't told a single soul before today. How Christ-like is that? The bible tells us to do good deeds without fanfare and acknowledgment. That afternoon on her way home, She stopped to get a coffee at the local donut shop. As she left the store, she noticed a shiny heads-up penny on the sidewalk. Instead of bending down to pick it up, she knelt and placed a penny next to it. Heads-up, of course. After all, pennies are gifts from angels and angels always smile when we share our spare change.