Pennies From Heaven
When my son, Jordan, was a little boy he would get so excited when finding a penny or other coin on the ground. He would display it proudly and announce that it was God saying hello. I never knew why he thought that... I don’t recall anyone teaching him anything of that nature. I have always assumed it was related to the writing on our currency, “In God We Trust." Regardless of how he came to that conclusion, I will never forget the excitement in his eyes each time he received a hello from God.
After Jordan’s death in February of 2016, my daughter and I were constantly finding pennies or other coins scattered on the ground. I remembered my sweet little boy’s words and found comfort in those treasured discoveries. It seems like I would find coins when I needed them most. I remember going through a particularly difficult time about eight months after Jordan’s death. I was driving home after spending a few days out of town. I had been crying and felt so broken. I stopped at the store and when I returned to my car a short time later, there was a pile of shiny pennies in front of my car door... I couldn’t miss them. It looked as though someone had turned a cup full of pennies upside down and left a little mound right in front of the driver’s door!
Coins weren’t the only objects of comfort. In a dream a little less than four months after Jordan had passed, I saw him making some adjustments to a wooden box. In the dream, he told me there were 10,000 sounds he could send me. I heard a bird chirp as he tinkered with the box and knew that sound was meant for me. Later that morning a bird landed on my windowsill and I again heard the same sweet chirp I recognized from my dream.
It has been 28 months since Jordan’s death, and in the past month or so, I have been so inwardly focused that I forgot about pennies and song birds.... I realize that has made the journey more difficult. I have been in a self-imposed rush, but going nowhere and missing out on little comforts and a connection that is vital. Earlier this week while doing some outside chores, I realized that a bird had built a nest in a very small area on my front porch. The chirping was constant, but I had been oblivious. How long had I been unaware of that comforting sound? What else have I missed?
Pennies from Heaven and the vocals of winged messengers! I do not think Jordan is leaving me coins or communicating with me through birds! What I do believe in is a compassionate Creator who cares enough to comfort me in my brokenness. I have never believed that things happen randomly... I believe that coincidence is God’s way of staying anonymous! When I can focus on the fact that I am connected to something far greater and that someday I will be reunited with my son, then I can find a penny or hear a bird chirping in the early morning and my heart can smile for a moment... and mean it.
