Greetings!
Like most people, my older son used his credit card and debit card to pay for almost everything. He carried some cash with him for vending machines and places that did not accept cards. He felt it was an inconvenience to use the coins that he got back from those transactions. He simply put them in his pockets. Once in a while, he emptied the coins from his pockets, and put them into a bag. He did not talk about it, and I did not know that was how he handled the coins.
In July 2007, my son found a job in another state. Soon he left to report to his new job. My husband and I were left to pack up everything for the move. (Re The Amazing Prophetic Dreams of Moving - Story 1 and What if it is my son or daughter in a similar situation?)
Imagine our surprise when we found two heavy bags of coins in one of his drawers. At first, we used coin wrappers, but it was too time consuming. We brought some of the coins to a store that had a coin machine. A woman with two kids were using the machine. We observed the machine did not work as fast as we thought. The woman still had a few small buckets of coins to drop into the machine. We went to another store. That store did not have a coin machine. We went to a third store. When we were done dropping all the coins into the machine, we were relieved that we did not have to carry the heavy bag of coins home. Though heavy, the coins did not mount to much. We had to pack up a lot of things for the move. We decided to deal with the rest of the coins after we moved.
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In recent years, I began to examine the coins. I read the history of U.S. coins. Before this, I had not paid much attention to coins. Now, I appreciated the beautiful designs of the coins. When I went shopping, sometimes I used cash so that I could get a few coins back. I was happy when I got a coin that I did not have. Soon I realized I had too many coins. I needed to use them instead of accumulating more coins.
Before Thanksgiving, I saw news about the Salvation Army kettle. In the past, I used to put dollar bills into the kettle. It came to me I could use the coins instead of dollar bills. That was exactly what I did on Black Friday. I looked at every coin before I put them inside the handbag in a way of setting my intention with blessings. The Salvation Army bell ringer greeted me with a wonderful smile and happy holidays. I smiled back and wished him the same. I watched the quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies rolled inside the kettle with gladness.
When I was home, I was surprised that I had a lot of coins inside my handbag, and every coin looked familiar to me! How could it be? They were the same coins that I put inside the kettle.
A few days ago, I went to the same store. Before I went, I made sure I had a lot of coins with me (i.e. more than the last time). The same bell ringer greeted me. I briefly talked to him about what had happened. I said I would give the coins another trial. He said, "Wow, it was a miracle! Every penny helps! Thank you!" With the same joyful heart, I watched the quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies whirled into the kettle. It was a success this time.
With incidents liked this, sometimes we wondered if it really happened. This day I looked back at one of my earliest experience A Story of the Touch of God back in the restaurant years.
Lunch hour was over. I was alone in the dining room. I said out loud, "God, are you there? If you are, why don't you help me? Do you hear my prayers?" Soon, a man walked in. He sat down and ordered a combination plate. When I brought out his food, he began telling me his story. He told me he started his own business after losing his job. For the first two years, the business was so slow that he almost lost hope. At the end of our conversation, he told me to be patient, and never lost hope that life would get better. After he left, I cleaned up the table. I happened to look at the fortune cookie insert that he left behind. I would like to point out never before that I read any fortune cookie insert left by the customers, but somehow that day I did. On it was written -
He is the Representative of His existence
It was unimaginable that someone could come up with these words for the fortune cookies! By the way, when the restaurant years were over, I was totally grateful for the experience. I knew I had overcome, and had served with love.
I also realized it was not a coincidence that I thought of that post at this time.
Christmas is near. Soon a new year, 2025, will begin. However, I have heard many people are being laid off; meanwhile, there are some that play the political game to add more stress to the everyday people. May the ending message of that post bring us light and hope.
If you are going through a trying time of your life right now - may be out of a job, is sick, or going through a difficult relationship - I have the same message for you:
Be patient and never lose hope that life will get better. Meanwhile, love yourself, love others, and allow others to show you their love and support.
Love and Blessings,
Q of D
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