NaBloWriMo Day 8 - Wealth is found in the most unlikely places

There is a poem circulating that gives a beautiful explanation to the mysterious findings of the pennies on the ground--our angels in heaven leave them for us. I've read the poem time and time again when it pops up on my newsfeed or gets forwarded in an email. I always thank my grandma every time I pick up a penny from the ground because of that poem. The other day, Grandma was feeling especially generous when she left me a dime--ten pennies all in the same pile!

I never imagined there would be any benefit to being shy and socially awkward. But while I was looking down to avoid uncomfortable eye contact in the hallway or while walking to school, I would easily spot all those coins that had slipped out of the hands or pockets of kids who would later be short when paying for lunch. Occasionally, I would even find a paper dollar. One time, I was so astonished to find a $20 bill, that I nonchalantly placed my foot over it while looking around to see if anyone else had seen my discovery or might want to lay claim to it.

 I remember a Christmas Eve driving through a deserted parking lot of the mall on the way home from our annual family gathering. I spied what appeared to be a wallet laying on the concrete. Dad stopped the car and I opened my door and reached down to retrieve what was indeed a woman's billfold. Inside were several fifty dollar bills--no doubt the hard-earned cash of someone doing some last minute Christmas shopping earlier in the day. In addition to all the cash was identification. We went home and I called the woman to let her know I had found what she had lost. I anticipated with the kind of money she was carrying that a reward of some sort would be forthcoming. Christmas Day, when she showed up to claim her lost item, not only was there no reward...there was not even a thank you. I remember vowing from that moment on that the next time I found a wallet full of cash, I would take the cash and put the billfold back where I found it. Well...that was 35 years ago, and I have yet to find another billfold to fulfill my vow.

But unexpected wealth isn't just in the occasional windfall of some pennies from heaven. Wealth can come as a kindness from a stranger--a friendly hello when you're feeling down, or a card or phone call from a friend you haven't heard from in awhile.

Spiritual wealth is found in a scripture passage that has been read over and over and then suddenly takes on a whole new meaning that can only be God inspired.

 Life is short...

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21