“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”Matthew 13:44
Do you pick up pennies in a parking lot? I do, partly because of the little rhyme my mother taught me as a child, “Find a penny – pick it up – all day long it brings you luck!” And partly because I’m not above stooping to pick a penny up since they, along with all the other coins I find lying about, can really add up!
Throughout the year, my entire family does likewise and at Thanksgiving we bring our gleanings to the traditional gathering of the clan for an entertaining and exciting count! We call our findings “Goat Money” since our hope is they will produce funds sufficient for the purchase of a goat (hopefully a pregnant one) through the international outreach ministry of Samaritan’s Purse during their annual Christmas drive.
My “Goat Money” is saved in a ceramic milk jug with “A Penny Saved” written on it that sits atop my dresser. A couple of years back, as I tossed a dime into my jug, my husband called from the living room, “Honey, come here. You have to see this!” Being reported was the amazing story of a California couple who found 1,400 gold pieces dating from the mid to late 1800’s buried in rusty cans in their garden.
I could not help but chuckle watching the report and hearing that the couple had said they plan to keep some of the coins and sell others with the intention of donating part of the proceeds to charity. Now that’s some serious “Goat Money”! I laughed out loud as the story ended with the couple saying, “Don’t be above bending over to check on a rusty can.”
We may never rejoice in finding cans of gold buried in the garden but, we can always rejoice in the unfathomable treasure of the kingdom of heaven available to all who believe in The Son of God who died for us, was buried and rose again!
If you begin saving coins now—by Thanksgiving you’ll have some “Goat Money” too.
Tip: Ask your bank for coin wrappers and wear disposable gloves when counting loose change.
Here’s the link for the Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Catalogue. https://sampur.se/2LU7eGM
