After all, a penny is a penny

As I was leaving the post office, I hurried across the parking lot to get to my vehicle. As I usually do, I kept my eyes focused on the ground as I walked to my vehicle.
Then, I saw it. There it was in all of its stunning beauty. I stopped for a few moments to look at it, and then bent over and picked it up. It was a penny. That’s right, one cent.
I couldn’t wait to get home to show it to The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. She knows how much I love collecting pennies. Of course, I have other coins as well, but it’s so great to walk in a parking lot and find a penny.
Walking in the front door of the house, I shouted, “Honey, I’m home. You’ll never guess what I found today.”
She shouted back at me, “Let me guess. You found a penny in the parking lot.”
Quite stunned, I replied, “How did you know?”
“Well,” she said, “I knew you were going to the post office which has a large parking lot and you always find a penny in the parking lot. So I really wasn’t guessing I just knew what you found.”
I walked into the kitchen where she was and showed her the penny I found at the parking lot. With a great smile on my face, I said, “Isn’t this penny beautiful?”
“You do know,” she said, “that a penny is only a penny?”
“I know a penny is a penny and I’ve been collecting them for years.”
She wasn’t really impressed with my obsession with coins. I had a fairly large coin collection, and I can always add to it, even if it’s just a penny.
I tried to explain to her that 100 pennies equal one dollar, and even if it’s just a penny, collecting them is about enjoying the small wins and the simple pleasures in life, which I believe everyone can appreciate.
What I find intriguing about pennies in a parking lot is that they don’t cost anything. These tiny treasures bring me simple happiness, and I enjoy the feeling of finding something free and unexpected.
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is one of those BOGO shoppers, and she’s quite proud of how she can really get bargains. When you buy one and then get one free, that means they’re half the cost. Anytime you can save money is okay with me.

I spent some time in the afternoon looking at my collection of pennies. I knew all of the parking lots where I found a penny. I’ve been on vacation and found a penny in a parking lot. I can’t tell you how much pleasure I get just looking at these pennies I found. Pennies that cost me nothing, I like.
There was that one time when The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage came home and said, “You’ll never guess what I found today. I found a quarter in the Publix parking lot.” Then she laughed most hysterically.
She came into my office, where I was working, held up that quarter, and said to me, “See, a quarter is much more than a penny.” All she talked about that day was the quarter she found in the parking lot. A quarter equals 25 pennies. Duh!
I knew what she was doing, and I congratulated her on her wonderful findings for the day. I know that quarter will be used in her BOGO shopping. Believe me, I was happy for her.
Once in a while, I’ll find a quarter or a nickel or even a dime, which brings me great pleasure, I can assure you.
I know these parking lot findings are really that valuable. But, as I tell The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, they’re all free. And that makes them special to me.
This will never happen, but one day I would love to find a $100 bill in a parking lot. That thrill of surprise would make my day, and I’d be eager to share it with The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage.
Since the government has stopped producing pennies, maybe one day my collection will be worth a lot. Until then, I appreciate how my frugal habits, like saving pennies, reflect a wise approach to life and money.
My father passed his frugal attitude down to me. Because of that, I have a great deal of respect for coins like pennies. I believe it’s not how much you make in life, but how much you spend. A friend won a million-dollar lottery. Within two years, he was bankrupt.
Another attitude of my father was that it’s not how much you make, but how deep in debt you are. And I’ve been very careful over the years not to get into debt. I don’t need the best of things or the latest; just what I can afford.
One of my favorite Bible verses is 1 Timothy 6:10. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Many people misunderstand this verse and use it out of context. Money is not the problem; the “love of money is the root of all evil.” I need money to live, but I must realize that there is more in my life than money.

Dr. James L. Snyder lives in Ocala, FL with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage. Telephone 1-352-216-3025, e-mail jamessnyder51@gmail.com, website www.jamessnyderministries.com.