WHAT ARE YOU COLLECTING?

He was circling in on me like a glider coursing to a target. Engulfed in a magazine in a hangar-sized hospital waiting room, I was sitting in one of the hundred plus seats. Only two others were occupied.

A person who I had never met before, hovered near. I glanced up; he sat down in the seat right next to me.

Ernie immediately said, “I collect coins.” Grabbing his belt buckle, he reported: “This is the first silver dollar they made.” Still processing the oddity of our instant-conversation, I said: “That’s interesting.” An 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar was ornately integrated into the buckle.

He then pulled a coin in a sticky-note-sized protective holder from his pocket. Ernie said, “Have you ever seen an Indian Head Penny?” He retrieved coin after coin from his pockets. With each appearance, he told their story.

The coins were precious to Ernie. Price tags were still affixed to the cardboard packaging.

When the coin show ended, he told me some sad life-stories. My pondering mind shifted from coins, to illness, to what I could offer of spiritual value.

The book of Proverbs says: “She is more precious than rubies and all things you may desire cannot compare with her.” This is not referencing coins, but wisdom. Godly wisdom.

And like precious coins, godly wisdom can be examined for specific details. The Bible says: “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

We need to collect godly wisdom. Someone like Ernie may just need a person to talk with. His wife had Alzheimer’s and his appointment was for blood work. Do you think Ernie might need some of that pure, peaceable, gentle advice from above?

Yes. . .everyone does.