Forgotten Goodness

Have you ever thought about the sheer amount of things that we ignore? For example, I would be willing to bet you walked past at least one, if not quite a few pennies today. Did you see them? Did you pick them up? Probably not.

I found a penny today, and it, along with two others, joined the proud collection of bright copper coins in the bowl on my dresser. Why collect pennies? It's a good question, honestly; one that I believe I have an equally decent answer to. 

I collect pennies because they are forgotten. They are overlooked, ignored, and undervalued. I collect them because someone showed me once how similarly we overlook God's grace and goodness. 

There are times in my life when I feel like I am about to run out of strength to carry on. When I know without a doubt that I can not take the next breath on my own, let alone complete whatever other tasks were laid before me. 

There are times when the world will get you down; when we are scared, confused, weak, helpless. Sometimes in these moments it is easy to forget all the good things God has done for  you. It's easy to wonder if we'll get through it, let alone how. I know. I was in that place just last night, and for a time before. We forget all the times that God has come through in the past and question if He will come through now. But, as Matt Westerholm reminded us in chapel today, "if He's taken care of you in the past, He's going to take care of you in this current season." God is not going to leave us now. He never did before. 

Joshua was charged by Moses in Deuteronomy 31:6 to "Be strong and courageous; don't be afraid or terrified of them. For it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will not leave you or forsake you." Again in verse 7 he says to have courage and in verse 8 he repeats: "The LORD is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged."

God doesn't leave us. He's been here the whole time, and He will stay here with us forever. Kind of like these pennies. They are all around us just waiting for someone to notice them. 

I collect pennies because they give me hope. My life is laced with these reminders that God is good. That He is faithful. "I need the reminders. I need to be told that He was faithful then, and then, and then. Just because I've forgotten how to see it doesn't mean it isn't there. His goodness is there. His promises have been kept. All I need to do is see." (Shauna Niequist--Cold Tangerines) And when I hold these pennies in my hand, I remember all the times that God has been faithful. That He has stood with me in the moment. Each penny stands for a time that I saw God's grace--and yet there are a million more times that I was surrounded by it and didn't even see it.

Sometimes, when I look around, I'll see one. Since I started collecting them they always make my heart smile. God's grace is like pennies. And it's everywhere.