One of the ways the Lord reminds me of His presence is to give me pennies. I was frightened at how much money was going to be lost on the first house we sold many years ago; in front of a cheaper competition house, I found a penny: in God we trust. Our house sold soon thereafter, and while we did lose money, it all worked out in the end.

I find them just about everywhere, and recently it seemed as though I was in a drought. It had been quite some time since the Lord gave me a penny.

And then, we bought this house.

Once the deed was recorded, my husband and I arrived at our new home that same afternoon. We found 2 pennies before we even walked through the front door. One was my birthyear, the other was a year that was one of the worst of my life. The first few times we went to the house, we’d find another penny. My husband found one on the driveway – my birthyear again – as he went back to the car to get things. He swore it wasn’t there before.

We found one in the dirt in the backyard. More on the porch. I’ve lost track of how many we found and where. Just when I thought we’d found them all, as I was painting the moulding in the kitchen a second time, I found one jammed underneath the moulding. I had to wedge it out with a screwdriver. I’m pretty sure I would have seen it the first time I painted. It was the year I gave my life to Christ – I thought my heart was going to burst.

Despite the fact that I was not 100 percent on the purchase of this property and my anxiety peaking about it at every step, I am so encouraged that this is and will continue to be a blessing from the Lord. How will the Lord use this house to further His kingdom and bless those around us? I don’t know yet. I do know I need to be more hospitable than in the past. My pastor wife friend and I have already decided to do tea party nights at each other’s new houses. Hopefully we can use this house to host others and be that beacon of His Glory for everyone who enters these doors.

As it says on the penny, in God we trust.