Comfort comes in many different shapes and sizes.

It can be a strong hug from a trusted friend, snuggling with your favorite blanket or enjoying a heaping serving of mashed potatoes with a pat of butter melted on top.  All of those things and more have offered comfort to me at different times. But  today, comfort comes in the shape of two tiny dimes in my pocket.  

I put on a pair of jeans this morning that I hadn’t worn in a while and went for a much needed walk.  I had just received a phone call that my ninety-two year old mother, who is in a nursing facility, somehow fell out of her bed and fractured her hip.  

Talk about a hopeless feeling when you are four-hundred miles away and have to  wait for the doctor to call and let you know if your mom, who is in an extremely confused state, will be healthy enough to withstand a surgery to repair her hip and if not, what that could possibly mean.

So I opted for a walk to settle my mind and focus my thoughts on the presence of God, asking Him to be with mom in the hospital room where she is at, and also to be with me as I wait.

It was a bit chilly, so I shoved my right hand in my pocket and felt a small, circular item. I pulled it out and saw that it was a shiny, little dime.   I’m not sure why I found it so peculiar, it’s not like I’ve never had change in my pocket before.  Nonetheless, it warmed my heart a bit as I slipped the little dime back in my pocket.

I continued walking while praying and reflecting when the wind picked up again. I shoved my right hand back in my pocket and this time, I felt two circular items.  I pulled both dimes out of my pocket in surprise and examined them.  One was from 1977, the other from 2024.  Both coins, forty-seven years apart, shiny and simple had been tucked away in my pocket for who knows how long, but now they were in my hand.  

Suddenly, I felt a sense of comfort just at the sight and feel of these two little coins.  Their earthly value is only twenty cents, not even enough to buy a candy bar, yet for some unknown reason, holding them made me feel a sense of comfort and security.

Perhaps it’s because I’m the kind of person who tends to trust God with big, overwhelming things but completely flips out over small details especially when it includes waiting.

My mom fracturing her hip is big, I can give that to God.  Me, patiently waiting for the Doctor’s call and addressing all the little details that will inevitably come up is not nearly as big, but I tend to hold onto those little things and can get myself pretty worked up.

So as I turn the dimes over and over in my hand and accept the comfort they give, I think maybe, just maybe God gave me these two tiny dimes in my pocket today to remind me that He not only takes care of the BIG things but He also takes care of every tiny, little detail, including the waiting as well.