Lucky Penny

We went to Sunday school, made our formal greetings between class and church service and then the songs began, which meant no talking, it was time to take your seat. I knew the routine… Two songs, prayer, song… communion, sermon, song, a long prayer and then we get to go home and play. I made it past the two songs, prayer, song part of the service and like clockwork, my stomach knew that there was about to be food passing by known by all as communion. Ugh! An unfed stomach can make a lot of noise in a young boy. Especially when he opens his mouth. Oh the cruelty of passing around crackers and grape juice in small cups for adults and not for kids. I would have believed anything you told me to get my hands on one of those delicious morsels of unleavened goodness. And the mini cups of grape juice… I mean, how cool were those little cups? We didn’t have anything like that at home.

As my childhood nerves were about to be shot, at the anticipation of communion, my mother suddenly distracted me with more pennies than my two small hands could hold. She told me to hold these pennies for the offering that would soon be collected AFTER communion. She told me that if I behaved I could keep some pennies for myself and we could go to the store after church.

I wish you could have seen it. I sat there more quite than a tree that falls in the forest when nobody is around… like the sound of one hand clapping… I didn’t move or say a word. My hands clenched those copper gems of Abe Lincoln as they seemed to burst between my short fat fingers. I knew I had about a million dollars… just enough to buy some Fruit Stripe gum. The cracker and juice cup passed without me breaking my gaze on my new fortune… and then it happened.

The check was due and the plate, which was passed around for the offering, was headed down my row. My mother held before me the collection plate, which was shiny like gold with red felt on the bottom center. She gave me the “look” which was the green light to place some pennies into the collection plate. I’m not sure if it happened quickly or not, but it seemed like a loooong time to me. This beautiful round metal plate hovered in front of me like a UFO waiting to lock its tractor beam on my pennies. I placed one of my clinched fist over the red target and dropped them… “CLANK… CLANK! The two pennies I had managed to drop, one at a time, hit the side metal rim and bounced into the middle where other coins, pieces of paper and even some DOLLAR bills where.

My mother gave me the “look.”

I placed my other hand over this round treasure chest and dropped a couple more, hitting the felt and making much less noise than before.

I didn’t think it was possible, but my mother gave me the “look” again and it was worse than the first.

It suddenly clicked in my small head that she intended for me to give most of what was in my hands to this plate and keeping only a few pennies for myself. I looked up at her as she held the shiny gold plate, I sat back in my seat and put my hands in my lap… holding all the pennies close, minus the four I had dropped into the offering plate. Who could be mad at me? I didn’t even get the cracker and juice cup… why did I have to pay for it? I had bigger plans… something better than crackers and tiny cups of grape juice. (although, I really like grape juice) I would soon have my own pack of Fruit Stripe gum.

Then my mother passed the plate on.

I knew what I had done was wrong. My mother’s look was different. Moments before she had given me something with expectation. I think she was looking forward to seeing me dump a handful of pennies into the offering plate. When I didn’t… well, her disappointment showed and I knew it in my heart. I clutched my pennies… I thought, “I’ll share some of my gum with my friends.” My head sank low into my chest. My two fists full of coins seemed more heavy than before. My hands were sweating and the tight grip I had began to ache my fingers. I wasn’t sure how I could hold on to them much longer. Then something else happened. My mother opened her purse and pulled out a brand new package of Fruit Stripe gum. My hands were so full, I couldn’t have grabbed for the package of gum even if I wanted to. Something was happening and I could feel it in my bones. I was selfish.

Page 2 of 3 | Previous page | Next page