Silver Coins and silver linings

An important coin and date

Today is Saturday. I'm sitting on our Dominican couch, resting from the latest outreach with my organization, Students International. I've had this particular blog post brewing in my heart and mind for almost two months. Honestly, I suppose you could say this blog post has been under construction for a tad over 42 years. It involves the image to the right, which is significant to me for a couple reasons: 1) 1972 is the year of my birth; 2) this particular denomination has been part of my story from year one of my life. You see, in the top drawer of the chest in my childhood bedroom, three coins always seemed to be present among the GoBots, pocket knives, Star Wars figures, and toy soldiers. 

I held this small collection of silver dollars in my possession for fifteen or so years before ever spending one (we spend many valuable things during our teen years, don't we?). I'm not sure of when I first heard the story of the origins of my little coin collection, but I do remember the impression it had on me then. Now that I'm an adult with many years behind me, the impact is much greater. You see, all the silver dollars were gifts from complete strangers during the first few years of my life. 

One came from an older gentleman to my mom at a fast-food restaurant one day. They all came in similar fashion. 

"Here. I want this little guy to have this." (hands my mom a silver dollar)  

"What for?"

"He smiled at me."

For whatever reason, something as simple as the smile from a little boy prompted a few people to reach into their pockets and hand over silver dollars to a complete stranger. Over the years, I've grown to appreciate this storyline much more than the gifts, and, with time, the story has faded, a bit, from my memory. But a recent story from one of the vice-presidents of our organization brought back memories and emotions I wasn't expecting. It happened this past May--the week of my birthday, nonetheless. I love the way God works. 

As our VP was sharing a story from a recent support-raising trip he had taken, he told us of a small church with an even smaller group of people who had come to hear more about his life with Students International. The evening came and went with no fanfare to speak of, but there was plenty of encouragement and prayer. However, a surprise awaited. One of the people who had been in attendance was moved to give something which they valued greatly: a collection of coins. 

The person was a good friend of the VP's mother and she had wanted to give the gift anonymously, so she brought it to his mother to pass on. This made the gift even more meaningful, especially to our vice-president. As he shared, "She never even talked to me. She didn't want anyone to know except God himself." 

After returning from his trip, the surprise gift was later appraised -- mainly because of the dates on the coins (perhaps this would be one of those items we see on the Antique Road Show--you know, the one where I bring in my mom's styrofoam flamingo from storage to find out it's worth $3,000 USD or something crazy like that). The appraisal report came, though, just as the gift had, with no special fanfare. The actual value of the silver dollars turned out to be the face value of each coin in the collection. 

This lady, whose husband had passed, felt compelled to give something that was near and dear to her heart: a collection of silver dollars--one silver dollar for every year of their marriage. After hearing our leader's heart for the mission and vision of our organization, and his heart for Jesus and His gospel, she gave this most-precious gift. It wasn't until learning her story that the value of her gift was truly realized. Just as Jesus had watched the widow give her last coins nearly 2000 years ago, He was watching when this lady gave away every coin that was to remind her of her late husband.

After our leader shared this story with us at our staff training, he held up a coin to show us what people will give because they love Jesus. He encouraged us to remember why we do what we do, so that on those days when we want to give up, we might remember those who are sacrificing to make what we do possible. I remembered those stories of receiving silver dollars simply because I smiled at someone. That's when it hit me. He then gave each one of us a silver dollar. 

And as he pressed the coin into my palm, I began to cry.

Most of the past fifteen-or-so years have been pretty dry for me, spiritually. But over the last several years, I have been experiencing more joy in my life. I've been smiling more, laughing more, and experiencing life more. Some of that comes from being married to a wonderful, Spirit-filled woman; some, from being actively involved in thriving church bodies on the central coast of California, and now here, in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. But all of it comes from being nearer to the presence of God. In writing to the church in Jerusalem, Jesus' brother, James, gave them this promise: "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8) 

The promises of the Bible can be easily overlooked as cliché, or even boring when we don't spend time with the One who made the promises in the first place. And I hadn't been spending much time at all with God. But I've been spending much more time with God these past years and I've noticed a change in my life, and in the reactions of those around me. My relationships are healthier, my life is richer, and I've experienced the presence of God in powerful ways. But the impact of that silver dollar--almost on the day of my birthday--was an unmistakable and personal gift that absolutely floored me.

If you can understand the impact those coins from total strangers had on me, I hope you can imagine how important a silver dollar coming directly from the Father of Lights truly is.  

I agree with King David's thoughts: who am I, God, that you would even notice me, much less, think of me? I'm just some kid in a store, smiling. 

I don't even understand it fully, yet. But one day "I will know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) And I hope you will, too. God is a wonderful Father. Spend some time with Him today and see what happens. You might be pleasantly surprised.