I was around seven years old when I inherited my grandfather’s WW1 coin — the talisman or lucky charm each soldier in the British Empire had been gifted by the King.
I don’t know why I was given it and not either of my siblings, but from the very moment I held it, I was fascinated by it; fascinated by the tiny words embossed on each side; fascinated by the prayer but especially fascinated by the story of why those tiny words had been worn down by my grandfathers thumb.
At the age of seven I didn’t understand war, or trench fighting, and definitely not the horrors that every soldier, every nurse and doctor, every reporter sent in to battle saw and had to endure, along with every civilian that lived in the towns, either on the fringes of or amongst those terrible battlefields. Horrors that not even the best movies can replicate.
But somehow, at the age of seven, I knew that the wear marks his thumb had made signified this coin meant far more than just a ‘talisman’. It was held in the highest regard by my grandfather because the words he could trace with his thumb and repeat over and over while in that hellish situation gave him hope, mercy and strength.
The coin became one of my prized possessions. I placed it in my jewelry box and reverently brought it out, usually when my life was difficult, and I too would rub my small thumb into the same groove.
Once the war was over and he had returned home, the coin travelled in his pocket with him, day in and day out all his life, a constant reminder that even in everyday life — perhaps especially in every day life — he still needed the hope and mercy and strength from the One who brings life.
My grandfather was an ordinary man who made mistakes but came to know and humbly rely on his God and who prayed daily for his future family and descendants. A man who set this blessing over future generations. I was young when he passed away, but I am so very grateful and blessed to part of his legacy.
It is my honour to share what the significance of the Coin was to him, especially the words embossed on it. Jesus taught his disciples that prayer, and it covers everything — from Who God is to how we need Him. To love others and how to live our lives in such a way our prayers can be heard, that God has all the glory and power.
The coin wasn’t what inspired me to write this book — Book One of the Coin trilogy — but I cannot think of my grandfather without thinking about the Coin. He would love knowing his precious trinket had made the front cover of a novel.
Dear Reader, if you have chosen to purchase my first novel in the Coin trilogy, ‘Because of Mercy’, let me give you my heartfelt thanks for your support.
I pray that the fictional story of Rose and Henry that has been written on these pages both entertains and touches you, and leaves you in wonder about the Creator of the Universe and His remarkable love for both you and I.
PDDawn x
