A Time to Laugh . . . from a fish story to our story

There is a time to weep and a time to laugh, says the Scripture. I have done both but prefer the latter.

So there we were at Gateway Church. Sitting in our usual area—back row of the first section where we can fit a wheel chair and still have room for the other 6 of us. I remember being very distracted this particular Sunday morning. By some money issues. We had spent almost all of our savings on a surgery for Ella Claire. She had been having consistent pain in her left foot and ankle, and we had had enough.

I can’t tell you a ton about Pastor Robert Morris’ sermon that Sunday. But I do remember that in the midst of the sermon, almost as a passing reference, Pastor Robert shared the story about what Jesus told his followers to do in regards to a money issue. I think they owed taxes. So Jesus told Peter to go fishing—and that the first fish he would catch would have a valuable coin inside his or her mouth. And Jesus instructed him to use that coin to pay their taxes.

So for Peter, a follower of Jesus, here was the plan:

Go fishing.

Catch fish.

Retrieve coin from fish.

Use coin to pay taxes.

Got it. But what did that mean for me?

So Susan and I went home from church. Soon we were sitting together downstairs talking, in part, about our financial problems. We had a stack of bills on the desk that added to the ambiance. I somewhat cynically asked her what she thought about Pastor Robert’s sharing of the story about the fish and the coin. Between the two of us, I added it up...we had ZERO clues about what this meant for our situation. But we prayed anyway. We believed for His provision. We asked God for guidance and asked Him to provide.

Shortly after we prayed I got a text from a dear friend, mentor and former colleague. His name is Robert Adams. He wanted to have lunch. We decided to meet Friday at Chili’s. Robert doesn’t attend our church, hadn’t heard the sermon, and didn’t know much about our financial situation. And so, after working our way through a bowl of chips the size of office furniture, we ate our meal and were getting ready to pay the check. But Robert had a question before we left. “How you guys doing financially? You OK?” And so I shared that things were somewhat tight in this season.

As I finished my sentence, he reached deep into his pocket and pulled out something wrapped about 27 times in white paper and rubber bands. By the wear on the paper it looked like it had been in his pocket since the Reagan administration.

And out of the paper, Robert pulled two shiny, beautiful gold coins! He asked me: “If I gave you these would you know what to do with them?” I said no, I had never even seen a gold coin. He dials his phone and talks to his coin “guy” to find out what they are worth at this moment. And then he takes out his checkbook and writes me a check for that amount.

I later told Robert about Pastor Robert’s sermon and our prayer. He said, “Dean, I’ve had those in my pocket for maybe 10 years. And I’ve never given a coin to anyone in my life!”

You think God has a sense of humor? I think so. I can hear Him now, talking to Jesus sitting at His right hand, “You remember the coins in Robert Adams’ pocket? Ol’ Deano just heard the story of the coin. Let’s have some fun with this.”

I walked out of Chili’s and texted my bride with the news. And I think I included the photo of the coins. “Robert just gave us gold coins.” There was a little silence as our eyes watered and we both digested this news. And then I just laughed. And laughed. Coins! Are you kidding me?!

From a fish story to our story.  A time to laugh. Good one, God. Good one.