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Above you will find several pictures of two-dollar bills. It is a quiet little note, not often seen in everyday change. Yet the story it carries is one of extraordinary perseverance — the kind of grit, patience, and faith that still matters for every one of us.
On the face of the bill is Thomas Jefferson. On the back is a carefully engraved scene from John Trumbull’s famous painting of the Declaration of Independence. That painting did not appear overnight. Trumbull spent roughly forty years of his life traveling, studying, and painting the faces of the men who shaped our nation’s founding. He wanted every likeness to be true. He met the living when he could. He sought out portraits and family resemblances when he could not. Decade after decade he kept at the work until the vision was complete.
The engravers who later translated that painting onto the two-dollar bill brought the same spirit of careful dedication. Look closely at the reverse and you will see individual faces, coats, and even the suggestion of facial hair rendered with remarkable precision. Every raised line of ink is the fruit of patient, skilled hands.
The men gathered in that room also knew something about long, costly perseverance. Reaching the moment of declaring independence required years of struggle, risk, and hard choices. Many of them held a deep faith in God and believed they were part of something larger than themselves. Their courage was not the absence of fear; it was the decision to keep moving forward with conviction and with one another.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” — Jeremiah 29:11
That same combination of grit and kindness is still asked of us. Stamina without kindness can become hard. Kindness without stamina can fade when the work gets long. Woven together, they form the kind of character that lasts — the kind that builds teams, strengthens churches, and steadies a life.
This year we mark two hundred and fifty years since the Declaration of Independence. The two-dollar bill is a small reminder of the faith, the patience, and the long obedience that helped shape this nation. It is also an invitation: to keep showing up, to keep refining your craft, to keep treating the people around you with respect, and to trust that God has good plans for those who walk with Him.
Whether you are in the church youth group, on the boxing team or serving as a pastor, coach, or, most importantly, walking along the incredibly difficult path as a parent — the call is the same. Stay faithful. Stay patient. Keep kindness close at heart.
The end result of a life lived that way is something precious and beautiful. Keep going — with grit, with kindness, and with faith.
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Joe Kerwin
Guest blog is by Joe Kerwin, who has served as an elder at Pilgrim Church in Beverly, MA, a marine, honorably discharged after six years in the Corps, a street minister working with the addicted and the homeless, and a woodman. He is the author of many poems and is a worldwide traveler.
