Ever felt as if you had none? That you were worthless?
“Sometimes,” answered the lady I counseled on a street corner one day, “I feel nothing else.”
So this morning, I left the Hampton Inn in Tampa and dropped the rental at the Tampa International Airport.
I saw a dime on the terminal floor. At first, I stepped over it and walked on. Then, for no apparent reason, I just stopped, turned around, and walked back. I let go of my roller board travel bag, reached for my iPhone while dropping to my knees, and snapped a picture. I could feel the stares of the couple who walked by dragging their own oversized luggage. One of them turned around to see what I was doing. You can guess what he was thinking.
I gathered it up, looked at it, stood and dropped it into my pants pocket.
I asked, “Little fella’ ever been to Kentucky?”
I know. A bit strange perhaps. But I’m this way, you know. Furthermore, I have been thinking all morning about all the dimes and nickels and worthless pennies who inhabit our world. I wondered as I walked toward the gate and looked into the faces of strangers all around me…I wondered just how many of them felt worthless, as if their life was just a freak accident and their contribution to this world not much more significant than a dime on the floor of an airport terminal.
Or, maybe it’s because I’ve felt this way myself for much of my life.
Then, all of a sudden, I remembered something else – which is why I’m so glad I learned the stories of Jesus long ago and committed many of them to memory – I remembered the parable Jesus told of the woman who dropped a penny on her hardwood floors. She grabbed the broom and spent the remainder of the morning sweeping the floors looking for it.
Neurotic?
You bet it is.
Then, I thought about God and just how neurotic she is in her relentless search for you and me.
Why?
