Valuable pennies

I received this e-mail forward from a friend and wanted to pass along the story and add some of my own thoughts to it:

"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 waterway, 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 Arlene. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

"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... ?'

"He explained, '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 my 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!'"

First lesson, everywhere God's name is written is holy. We should start revering even the little things that remind us of God.

Second, God uses even the little things to remind us to trust him. You think it is a coincidence that our forefathers put "In God We Trust" on our coins? I don't think so.

Third, in the Bible, Jesus told his disciples to give what was Caesar's to Caesar, the coins with Caesar's face on them. Well, we do owe our government, but we also owe God. Whatever we have has been given to us by God, and even our money has his name on it. We should remember that we should give to God what is God's - everything!