WRITTEN BY PAIGE TERRY HAMILTON http://paigikins.blogspot.com

The Paige Tur nerFind a penny. Pick it up. All day long

YOU’LL HAVE GOOD LUCK!I learned that rhyme as a

child. My mother would say it often, pointing out pennies on the ground. I recall my brother and sister would often join with me, racing to see which of us would be the lucky one to reach the cast-off coin first and therefore have the honor of picking it up.

To this day, whenever I see a penny in a parking lot, I think of my mother and the little rhyme she said so often throughout my growing up years.

Last year I was given a writing prompt as part of a writer’s group in which I was participating. The assignment was to write a short essay of thoughts regarding “A Penny on the Sidewalk.”

I spent the better part of an afternoon, holed up in my bedroom, alternating between writing, weeping and praying. Honestly, there was more weeping and praying than there was writing, yet somehow out of that emotional

afternoon came an essay that expresses so much of how I feel about my mother, the sort of woman she is, and what she taught me by the way she lived her life ... right down to picking up pennies off the sidewalk.

Mother’s Day is approaching, and once again I find myself thinking about my mother. Actually, that’s not exactly true ... I think about my mom every day and keep her constantly in my prayers. What I do think about as Mother’s Day approaches is honoring my mom, with both tangible gifts and gifts of the heart.

It is with her blessing that I share that essay for the first time in this edition of The Paige Turner.

All About Paige

Paige Terry Hamilton lives in the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun country with her husband Jon and their blended family of five children (ages 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14). She and her family are active members of Calvary Chapel of Lafayette.

When not climbing the endless mountain of dirty laundry, Paige enjoys encouraging ordinary women to grow in their faith in an very EXTRA-ordinary God through writing and speaking.

You can read more of Paige’s writings on her blog, Paige’s Pages (http://paigikins.blogspot.com/).

Paige can be reached via email at paigikins@gmail.com.

ENCOURAGING ORDINARY WOMEN TO FIND HOPE IN AN EXTRA-ORDINARY GOD MAY 2013

WRITTEN BY PAIGE TERRY HAMILTON http://paigikins.blogspot.com

Today, as I busily ran my

errands, I spotted a penny on

the sidewalk. Without thinking,

I reached down to pick it up,

and as I did I thought about

my mother.

My mother was always the

best at finding pennies on the

sidewalk ... or in the parking

lot of the post office and the

playground at the elementary

school. Once she found an

Indian head penny as we

strolled down the gravel road

that snaked behind our rural

home. Another time she found

a peso from Mexico, even

through we were hundreds of

miles from the border at the

time.

My mother was always the

best at finding pennies on the

sidewalk ... and under sofa

cushions, behind furniture, and

even in the washing machine.

My siblings and I soon learned

to empty our pockets before we

threw our clothing into the

laundry basket, for anything of

value mom uncovered in the

laundry room was always hers

to keep.

It wasn’t just coins. My

mother seemed to always find

other interesting objects ... a

rock with a fossil imbedded on

one side, an empty bird’s nest

fallen to the ground, the casing

of a locust clinging to a tree

limb, the first leaf to change

color in the autumn. Once my

mother found an extremely old

stamp stuck between the

floorboards of a century-old

home.

Quiet, kind, gentle,

observant ... these are words

that describe my mother. In

her mild and loving way, she

gave to me a foundation,

strong and sure.

Some might say I’m lucky to have been raised by the lady I call “Mom”, but I know better. Luck, if you believe in it, can be lost. It randomly comes and goes, as unexpected as a cool breeze in mid-August. Every gambler knows that luck isn’t a constant companion. Besides, my mom isn’t a penny or a good luck charm.

No, I’m not lucky. I’m blessed. Blessings, unlike luck, are not flippant and random. Once a blessing is yours, it is yours forever. I am definitely blessed to be my mother’s daughter.

THE PAIGE TURNER PAGE 2 MAY 2013

Finding Pennies: a story about my mother

WRITTEN BY PAIGE TERRY HAMILTON http://paigikins.blogspot.com

From her life, I learned how to live mine. Though I cannot begin to recall all of the wonderful life lessons she taught me, I can say that the very wisest thing I learned from her can also be found on a penny:

In God We Trust.

My mother is a woman of deep faith. Her trust in Christ has remained certain, strong and true all of her life. Never wavering. Never failing.

In God We Trust.

At my mother’s side, I learned scripture, verse by verse by verse ... words to cling to when days where dark, words to bring joy when tears fell, words to give hope when all seemed lost. Mostly though, I discovered these words would bring to my life fullness which I could find no where else.

In God We Trust.

At my mother’s side, I learned how to pray ... a

connection to my Heavenly Father, a constant source of wisdom, a never-ending source of strength. Conversations of gratitude to begin and end my day, as well as regular moments

of seeking heavenly discernment.

In God We Trust.

At my mother’s side, I learned firsthand the characteristics and values of Christ ... joy, love, kindness, gentleness, peace, and self-control among others. And though I’m still learning exactly how to apply this attributes to my life, my mother was my first and best example of how to live a Christ-like life.

For nearly 40 years my mother has taught me how to live out the motto “In God We Trust.” In recent months I’ve

realized I’m still learning from

her. My mother is essentially deaf. It wasn’t always this way. It’s been during my adulthood that my mother lost the ability to hear. Today, with her hearing aids in place, she is only about to hear with approximately 6% accuracy. Without her hearing aids, she hears nothing.

What You Never Knew About

A Penny

~ The average penny circulates about 25 years. By comparison, the average dollar bill typically circulates less than 5 years.

~ The penny was the first coin minted in the United States. In 1793, the U. S. government distributed 11,178 copper pennies.

~ There have been 11 different designs for the penny, including the flying eagle, the Indian head, the Lincoln wheat, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Union shield.

~ Abraham Lincoln’s portrait first appeared on the penny in 1909.

~ 1,040 pennies are produced every second, which totals to 30 million a day or the equivalent of 13 billion pennies per year!

~ Contrary to popular belief, the penny is still the most widely used of all coin currency, and it is profitable for the U.S. Mint to continue producing the penny.

Source: http://coins.thefuntimesguide.com

THE PAIGE TURNER PAGE 3 MAY 2013

WRITTEN BY PAIGE TERRY HAMILTON http://paigikins.blogspot.com

Yet despite this loss, she never complains, never whines, never bemoans her fate. I know she must feel some amount of sorrow that she can’t perfectly hear the voices of her grandchildren as they play happily. I wonder if she misses hearing the sound of the birds singing in the trees when she tends to her garden. And I know she probably longs (as I do) for a telephone conversation to catch up on all the latest family news. For more than a decade, my mother has led a quiet life, mostly void from the clarity of sounds. I don’t suppose anyone would really blame her if she were angry with God for taking away her ability to hear. Remarkably, my mother is not angry. She is simply at peace. This summer, my mother will be receiving a cochlear ear implant. The doctors say that many patients find their hearing improves significantly after the surgery, and yet there is no guarantee it will restore her hearing.

Knowing my mother as I do, and after talking with her about the possibilities the future holds, I know that her attitude remains unchanged. While I’m certain she maintains hope that the cochlear implant will restore her hearing, I know that she will be okay no matter the result for her trust is in God and not in the hands of the doctors ... and

trust in God is where real peace is found.

My mother always was the best at finding pennies on the sidewalk.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful

instruction is on her tongue.

Her children arise and called her

Blessed.from Proverbs 31

THE PAIGE TURNER PAGE 4 MAY 2013

As Paul Harvey used to say, “And now ... THE REST OF THE STORY.”

When I wrote this essay last summer, all I knew was that my mother would be receiving a cochlear ear implant. Our family had no idea how long it might be before her hearing improved, or if the procedure would even work at all.

I wish I could tell you that all along I had the faith of my husband, who prayed diligently for months for my mother’s hearing to be restored. He believed she would hear again, and had confidence that the implant was an answer to his prayers. I envied his faith and his commitment to prayer, for mostly I only managed to pray a more selfish sort of prayer ... that I might not be disappointed, not matter the outcome ... that I might not lose the ability to communicate with my mom ... and even that I would not lose my own ability to hear. The essay above was actually just my feeble attempt to deal with my own worries and emotions regarding my mother’s loss of hearing and the hopeful outcome for the cochlear implant she was going to receive.

Today, my mother hears. It’s not perfect, but it is so much better than it was this time last year. In fact, the difference is nothing short of the miracle Jon prayed would happen. What a joy it is to see my mother participating in conversations, answering questions being asked of her, and understanding the talk around a restaurant table! Yes, she even talks on the phone, though this part of her hearing has been slower to return. And I know from the look in her eyes that she relishes the sounds of her grandchildren laughing and playing happily.

I only regret that until today, I’ve never asked her if she hears the birds sing.