Dr. Mike Murphy
December 4, 2023
As she watched the rain fall, she wished she could see each day of the past year washed away with every drop. To say this year had been trying, would be an understatement. She still found herself praying to God, but she could not deny that her faith had been shaken. With each day, she was only left with more questions, finding herself in so many of these quiet moments asking the Lord, “why”.
She never thought her life was perfect, but is was a life she could not imagine living a day without. A faithful, and devoted husband, that had been the love of her life since high school. Twin, five year old daughters, that left her exhausted every night, but always falling to sleep smiling. A loving mother, who had always been there for her since her dad had died in her youth. And a church family, that she felt as close to as if they were her own blood.
But in a single moment, in a split second, she watched her world shatter. She could still remember the call she received that February day, but still could not tell you the words that were spoken to her. All she heard was that Ryan, her husband, had been in a wreck, and she needed to get to the hospital immediately. She barely knew how she had gotten there, but as she rushed into the emergency room, he was already in surgery. He had lost control of his truck on the icy road heading to work that morning. She would later learn that the truck had rolled as it hit the ditch, collapsing the cab of the truck onto his head. The doctors did not know the extent of the damage, but their immediate concern was to stop the bleeding. She sat in the waiting room that morning for what seemed like hours before the surgeon approached her with news. And as she glanced into the surgeon’s eyes, she already knew what his words were going to be.
The funeral was a blur, she just went through the motions as she made the arrangements. She did her best to explain what had happened to the girls, but she would still see their glances, looking for their father to come home. As the funeral ended, the tragedies did not. She soon learned that the company her husband worked for had changed their life insurance benefits, leaving her with little more than enough to pay the cost of his funeral. It had been all the two of them could do to keep up with the bills together, so she did not have a clue how she was going to manage this with just her income. But she rolled up her sleeves, and with her mother’s help in watching the girls, she worked every overtime hour she could get. And as winter turned to spring, and spring turned to summer, she began to see a little shining hope again at the end of the dark tunnel.
Just as hope seemed to pop back up its’ head, hope soon found itself buried deep again. Her mother’s arthritis had become so painful, it was all she could do just to watch after the girls. Each day she watched as the pain grew, and the disease crippled her a little more. As summer turned to fall, she watched as her mom was now in greater need of help herself, than of any help she could offer in watching the girls. Every overtime hour she could get now went to child care, and with any extra dime she might find, she did what she could to help her mother.
As Christmas approached, she found her checking account with more zeros than other numbers. No matter how hard she seemed to try, no matter how many extra hours she seemed to work, she could never get ahead. And with each extra hour of work, she also watched as it cost her in other areas. She found herself with little time to spend with her girls, missing memories from events in their life she would never be able to get back. And as she spent what little time she did have with the girls, she watched as her other relationships grew distant. She was at church so sparsely, she had lost contact with so many she cared for there. Often they had called to check on her, hoping to get by to see her. But her hours were so filled each day with the demands placed on her, that she could find no time to get with those around her. Soon their calls became less frequent, and soon she found that the only thing left in her life besides the girls, was the struggle.
She had decided that for Christmas this year, she was going to get the girls the one thing their husband had planned on getting for them. That from Santa this year, her husband's memory would remain alive in each of their lives. He had planned to get each a bike, as when he was six, he had gotten a bike for Christmas. Both girls held on tightly to the stories of his first bike, and each time they saw Santa, a bike was always the one thing they wanted most. With this in mind, she decided that no matter how many hours she had to work, no matter what she had to do without herself, her two girls were somehow going to have bikes this Christmas.
As December 23rd arrived, she still found herself a little over forty dollars short of being able to buy the bikes. As she thought of Christmas morning, her heart sank. Her last hope for this year was now gone, and she found herself crying tears she could never allow her precious girls to ever see. As she made her way into the house that night to figure out what she would be able to now get the girls, she ran into her neighbor, Bill. Trying to clear her eyes of the tears, as the rain began to fall that night, she told Bill of her situation. “Unless the Lord turns these raindrops into pennies, I will just never have enough to give my girls their wish this Christmas”, was all she could find the words to say.
Entering his house, those words weighed heavy with Bill. Bill lived on a fixed income, retired for some years now. If he had an extra forty dollars, he would have given it to her before she could have said another word. His heart sank as he thought of those two girls, and all they had been through. As he entered his door, he spoke out loud to the Lord. “If You would just show me a way, I so wish I could help”. No more than Bill had gotten through the door, he saw the two five gallon jugs of pennies sitting on his floor. Each day for several years, he would throw his extra pennies in those jars, hoping one day to have enough to do something special with them. It was at that very moment, the Lord showed him just what that “special” would be.
In the early morning hours, Bill pulled the hood of his coat over his head, grabbed each of the jars, and made his way to his young neighbors lawn. In the dark of the early morning rain, he found himself pouring out each jar, covering the grass in pennies as the rain continued to fall. He then quietly snuck back to his house, and waited for the sun to rise.
As dawn found its’ way to that day, Bill heard a scream. Not a scream of terror, but one of joy. Bill watched his young neighbor in disbelief as she found her way to her lawn, surrounding herself in the gleam of copper as the sun rose. Bill watched through tears that morning, as the young mother praised God with each penny she picked up. He watched as for over an hour she picked up those pennies. Each time she reached down to pick another penny up, Bill could not help but smile, as he saw a little hope returning to her face. Enough pennies to not only get the girls both a bike, but matching helmets. And just enough extra to make sure they got to share with their mom a Christmas dinner. As Bill watched that morning from his kitchen window, he realized just how much the Lord had heard every word he had spoken to Him that night before. And as Bill continued to watch, he could not help but tell the Lord a very “special thank you”, for giving him the greatest Christmas present he could ever have.
This Christmas, if you want to see a miracle, be a miracle. Allow the Lord to use you in the most amazing of ways, and watch the miracles flow. And with each amazing way, watch as the hope the Lord brought to the world that first Christmas night will fall on those around you like pennies from Heaven.
Praying you never forget, God is always with us this Christmas! And the greatest of hope is found in His name!
