The days leading up to my first Ironman triathlon were filled with excitement. Of course, there were other, less positive thoughts, too. What if I got kicked in the face during the swim? What if I crashed on my bike? What if I wasn't strong enough to make it through the run and couldn't finish? As my husband and I were walking to check my bike in the day before the race, I saw a penny on the ground and picked it up. It was then that I remembered a story that I had heard. . .

A man and his wife were invited to join his boss' family for a weekend at one of their vacation homes. While walking along the beach, the boss spotted a penny on the ground, picked it up and put it in his pocket. The employee's wife was puzzled by this. She knew how wealthy they were and wondered why he would pick a penny up off the ground. She asked him about it, and he replied: "On the penny are the words 'In God We Trust.' Whenever I see a penny, I pick it up and believe that it's a message from God reminding me that I need to trust Him."

What a great time for me to see a penny! I put it on my bike for the race as a reminder to myself that it was going to be a long day, and that I needed to trust that God was going to give me the strength to get through it. He did, of course, and I finished 2.5 hours ahead of my goal time and felt great the entire race!

Why do we ever worry at all?