A Penny for Your Thoughts

When I was in high school, I started collecting pennies. These were not pennies I bought or traded for, they were pennies I found. On the ground. Heads up, tails up, it didn't matter and I didn't discriminate against the little copper coins. I just scooped them up... ignoring the OCD in me screaming about germs... and said a prayer over the penny for my future husband.

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Did I know him when I was seventeen and began collecting my prayer pennies? Of course not. But I prayed anyway over every little penny I found. All throughout the remainder of my high school days and into the college ones, through first jobs and internships and mission trips and moving into my first house with some girlfriends-- you'd be amazed at how many pennies you'll find if you keep an eye out.

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I even spread this habit on to some of my college friends, and soon we began bartering over who found the penny first and would get to keep it. We'd sneakily drop pennies around each other's cars and in each other's bedrooms when someone needed a little cheering up. One housemate even left a penny with a friend in Rome she met over a spring break trip who then bestowed the penny to me when I visited the following summer.

A few fellow penny-praying ladies. :)
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But it is amazing how the Lord can use something so little, something that literally costs one cent to do so many incredible things. 

When I first began praying over the pennies, I desperately prayed that my husband would believe in Jesus as God and Savior like I did. I knew this conviction of mine was too strong and took over too much of my life to ever marry someone who didn't share the same beliefs, so I prayed and prayed for this future husband of mine to meet the Lord... until sophomore year of college when I suddenly realized that I wasn't praying that anymore. Instead I was praying that my husband would grow in Christ and continue to strengthen his faith. And a few months into dating, Dan told me that he wasn't really a Christian growing up... but became one our sophomore year of college. 

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A year before on Halloween, I was bombarded with pennies all day long. I found them next to the laundry machine and in the street and in front of my dorm room. Thirty pennies total in just one day. I told this to Dan when we were married and he knew exactly which Halloween I was speaking of. He said it was a night he needed prayer desperately, all the while having no idea that across campus, a girl he'd never seen was covering him with prayer throughout the entire day.

I prayed a lot that my husband would be a good dancer, or would at least be willing to attempt for me. I just adore dancing, especially swing dancing. And where were my husband and I when we first hung out together? Surrounded by friends at a swing dance uptown. And what were we doing when he asked me to marry him? Swing dancing. And what does he still interrupt my dish-washing to do with him in the middle of the kitchen? You guessed it... :)

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But the coolest prayer penny story of all is our second date. We were at a conference in Indianapolis and took one night to ourselves to grab Starbucks and explore the city. It was Christmastime, and in the middle of downtown was a soaring statue illuminated with lights to resemble a Christmas tree. In true Dan and Carrie fashion... We decided to climb it. We stopped to talked when we reached the highest possible climbing point, and looking at the ground I spotted a penny. And then another. And then another and another and another. Then the realization hit me: with the water missing for the winter, we unknowingly climbed into the fountain.

We. Were. Surrounded. By pennies. It was as if the ground below were made of them, a copper floor shimmering up at two smitten college seniors, the girl laughing at the irony of it all.

I slowly began to fall in love with pennies. They became a symbol of commitment, a metaphor for growing old with someone and knowing them inside and out. Pennies meant love. And every time I found one, I felt love-- from this unknown future man and from my great and ever-present God. On my wedding day, I wore a handmade anklet composed of four pennies: one old, one new, one I borrowed (and haven't given back yet...) and one painted blue. On our first anniversary, my husband bought me this necklace with scripture on the front made from a penny. I adore pennies now. They mean more than just prayers. Then remind me of something much, much greater. 

Something Old, Something New...
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I have a father who is just as quirky as I am, and when I was a little girl, he would throw pennies out the car window. (I know, so not environmentally friendly, I know, I know). We'd go shopping, he'd sort through the spare change, wait until we were driving fast, then chuck it out into the breeze. He said one day an archaeologist would find them and imagine crazy things about the culture that made tiny copper pictures of an old man.

The little girl in me LOVED this. I loved thinking about those pennies being dug up. So imagine in high school when suddenly I was the one collecting the thrown-out pennies. Without even realizing it, my father was leading me to prepare for my future marriage, just as my Heavenly Father was preparing me for it. And when my father walked me down the aisle and passed me on to Dan, when my loving, caring, compassionate, amazing father let go of my hands and put them in his, he undoubtedly had a huge part in crafting me for that moment,  in raising me as a future wife and preparing me to be let go of. He was simply mirroring my God in Heaven and the work he had done in both Dan and I for marriage. 

He would NOT stop looking at me!... I loved it :)
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On the night of our rehearsal dinner, I placed the jar of pennies in my fiance's grasp, telling him, "These are all the ways I took care of you before you even knew me." I told him of all the prayers I said for him and all the ways these little copper coins have slowly made me fall more in love with him over the years. That jar currently sits on the dresser in our bedroom, and my husband tells me constantly of how grateful and loved he feels by the priceless gift.

Dan would never forgive me if I posted wedding pictures
without sharing this one. He's pretty proud of it, haha!
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But I think the gift was really mine, because while I pursued my husband in prayer throughout the years, I was reminded of a good and loving God who is always pursuing me. How he sent his only Son to come on my behalf, who now spends his days interceding for me, abiding with me, and praying for me. He will never leave me or forsake me. It is the marriage no divorce can break, no separation can sever.

And unlike my husband who is beautiful yet human, my God's love will never fail me. 

Ever.

And he is waiting for the day to take me by the hand and whisper, These are all the ways I took care of you before you even knew me.

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This blog is just my hobby-- nothing I'm trying to promote or turn into a business-- so I'd normally never ask you to share posts. But this tradition is so near and dear to my heart, if you know any single girl who may enjoy it, please share! I would LOVE for other women to get the same joy from it as I did! :)

Happy late Valentine's Day, sweet readers. Remember the one who's great love will never fail us.  :)

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Agape,
CC

PS-- Check out my AMAZING wedding photographer, La Vita Photo! She was so much fun to work with and her pictures are stunning!! Thanks, Victoria :)