The Wisdom of a Penny

Yessss! I am glad to be back! Back at home. Back into routine. Back.   I have had the privilege and honor to have new and exciting experiences this summer.  These included jet-setting from North Carolina to the coast of California and several places in between.  I’ve learned new things, made new friends, savored experiences, tasted new food, and seen new sights, but as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz says, “There’s no place like home.”  I love the “laid-back” feel of summer AND it is good to get back to a routine.  By the time September knocks on the door, I am looking for a sense of normalcy and a taste of the mundane.  Now, all I really want is for the mercury to not rise so high.  Cooler weather, I’m ready for you!!!

The Gulf Coast, California, and North Carolina recently faced devastating events, including hurricanes, wildfires, and floods.  This is such a reminder to me that, at any time, devastation can occur.  Our lives can turn upside down through no fault of our own in an instant with no warning. No warning, at all.  We must be diligent to have our priorities in line with God’s.  Do not wait!

The last two weeks have been cathartic and cleansing for me.  Isabella worked her mom down cleaning out, repainting, and rearranging.  Our home was pieced together after the flood, then Savannah’s apartment was sporadically “placed on display” in our house, and to top it off, Isabella’s dorm room was crammed into the remaining nooks and crannies.  I almost felt suffocated in our home.  Isabella and I strategically went through every room and created a more comfortable and creative feel.  We also found some “timeless treasures” from Savannah during the process.  I’ll probably share about those someday.

So, today, I begin my new routine.  Today, I will find my groove.  Today, I begin to blog again.

Several weeks ago, I was getting dressed to go somewhere and I was doing what I always do …  determining what piece of jewelry I was going to wear.

Let me explain … those of us experiencing (and living with) loss tend to discover certain things that ease the pain or help us cope.  One such thing for me is to wear a piece of Savannah’s jewelry.  That seems to be a natural thing to do for me. I’m pretty sure there is a “jewelry gene” because Savannah loved jewelry as much as I do.  I received the “gene” from my maternal grandmother, Granny.  She moved into Eternity when I was ten-years-old so I didn’t get to know her as a young adult, only a child.  However, I can remember thinking she was stunning.  Granny was always “dressed to the 9s”, every accessory was fully coordinated, and every hair in place.  She looked like a Vogue magazine cover when she was pulling weeds in the yard! And, OH MY GOODNESS, the HUGS!!!! When Granny hugged you, you KNEW you were loved.  You know what I mean, those squeezing-the-breath-out-of-you, eyes-popping-out-of-the-sockets, kind of hugs!!!!

So, to remain true to my genetic makeup, I was walking back to my bedroom to see which piece of Savannah’s jewelry would “go” when I noticed a bowl of loose change on a side table.  I glanced down at the bowl I’ve seen a million times and was intrigued by the copper pennies.  I am drawn to copper.  I love the metal, the color, the patina, and, especially, copper-colored hair.   (Sorry, Isabella, I had to say it … at least I didn’t say, my man’s copper-colored hair!)  I remember stopping and picking up one of the pennies.  Then, another.

The shiny color.

The patina.

Abraham Lincoln looking forward.

“In God We Trust”.

“Liberty”.

“2016”.

Hmmmm.

I sat down and just rubbed them between my fingers.  That’s it! The wisdom on those one-cent pennies is PRICELESS.

The wisdom from appreciating these pennies encapsulates my “new attitude”.

I realized that when I trust God, I experience liberty.  However, I must keep looking forward and expect to thrive.  Even in the times that are devastating, disappointing, upsetting, etc. (i.e., 2016), I must trust, experience, look, expect, and thrive.

I made Isabella and I a bracelet to remind us of this fact. A few mornings later, I met Isabella in a coffee shop in Hammond to give her another bracelet and our barista regarded mine and said it was “Cool”.  I thanked her and told her a little about its origin.  She was about the same age as Savannah was and she showed me her wrist tattoo.  It was of her brother’s birthday. He had passed away when she was 11 years old and both she and her sister had recently gotten his birthday tattooed on their wrists.  She said it helped her feel closer to him.  She loved the message of the bracelet. I gave her mine.  We had a sweet moment there in the coffee shop.  This got me thinking, maybe, there are others who want a reminder that they, too, can TRUST, EXPERIENCE, LOOK, EXPECT, and THRIVE.  So, I am actively making more.

Here’s what you can expect from these perfectly-imperfect thrivelets:

• The penny may be shiny so that’s it’s easy to see that it has value and can be appreciated. Or, it may have patina-ed or damaged or worn.  This shows me that the penny will survive and can choose to shine again with effort (i.e., elbow grease and a concoction of baking soda and vinegar).
• The suede leather cords can become worn, but remain tough, like us.
• The knots may loosen, but they can be tied back. This represents the effort that is needed to keep on, keepin’ on!!! Life is not a “one and done” kind of thing.  No, we become loosened and we must tie ourselves back up.  We must get ourselves back together using whatever supports are available to us.
• “In God We Trust” is always a given. It is the overarching truth that we must live by in all aspects of our life.
• When we keep facing forward, we will experience liberty or freedom from our circumstances.
• No matter what trials we face, we must keep trusting and looking forward.
• The T-H-R-I-V-E may be perfectly symmetrical or maybe off-center, crooked, or uneven. This represents the fact that sometimes “thriving” makes sense and is easy, and other times, it is a worthwhile struggle.
• However, when we TRUST, EXPERIENCE, LOOK, and EXPECT, we will THRIVE!

Isabella coined the term, “thrive-let”.  So, if you’re interested in a “thrive-let”, you can check out my website in the next couple of days.  I’ll have the order form up and you can let me know your preference for either a shiny or patina-ed penny and let me know what color suede cord you would prefer.  Keep checking on the website for the order form. ( www.imalive2thrive.com ). I will have an order form on the website in the next couple of days.  Here’s a picture of a thrive-let.

Regardless of whether you want this reminder or not, please remember that you, too, have all you need so that you can thrive…

TRUST, EXPERIENCE, LOOK, EXPECT, and THRIVE!

Stephanie