28 Pillows

Friends in Christ,
 
28 Pillows!  That’s right 28!  Yesterday afternoon (which happened to be the coldest day of the year with temperatures in the negative digits and wind chill at -30) Micah and Eli were home for daycare and preschool.  I was in the kitchen working on music for Wednesday Evening Fellowship and I happened to notice the house was quiet.  A good thing if you are by yourself but not so much when there is a four year old and two year old at home!   Susan was at the hospital with Sarah (who went into labor the night before which was the “coldest” night of the year).  At 3:56am Sarah gave birth to our fourth grandchild, “Olivia Rose Martin” (January 30th).  She’s a beautiful healthy little girl that I’m sure will become just as spoiled as her two siblings and cousin.   So here I am alone with the grandkids (in a quiet house).  I get up from the kitchen table to see what’s up, and as I come to our hallway, I find this massive pile of “Pillows!”  Eli and Micah had gathered every pillow from every room of the house.  And here they were just as proud as can be of their “pillow cars” they had made.   They were quite creative in arranging their pillows into cars.  Both had front and back seats with pillow cushions to sit on, pillow doors, pillow hood, pillow windshield, and of course a pillow trunk.  And when I asked where they were driving their pillow cars to, they both spouted out, “Chick-fil-A!”  Well Chick-fil-A would come another day; it was way too cold to go outside!   What a wonderful gift is our imagination; the ability to envision something new, to dream, to creatively see with one’s mind that which is before you.  One time, Jesus told his disciples that they must become like little children (Matthew 18).  And the context of this passage certainly focuses on “humility,” but I can’t help but to also think that Jesus would want us to be “open and accepting to his word and will,” just as a child is open and accepting to the things their parents share with them.   Along with this, I think Jesus would have his followers, his children to dream, to envision something new, to creatively see with their mind that which the Father is showing them.  To envision, “The Promised land full of milk and honey;” to envision, “Jericho’s walls tumbling down;” to dream and envision the day when, “The Messiah comes!”  The Bible is full of experiences where God’s people creatively saw with their mind that which God was showing them.   This year it is my hope that we as a Church, as the body of Christ will be able to dream bold dreams, to creatively see with our mind’s eye that which God is showing us, to envision that “something new” that God will reveal to us!  As we work hand in hand, and heart to heart, may we be open and accepting as “little children.”
 
 
Blessings, Pastor Andy