(Not Pastor Cindy's picture)
Good morning, friends!
I went looking for my little girl self this morning. Or at least a picture of who I was when I was a little girl.
Here at church during the month of July, we are doing a sermon series called KidTalk, what children can teach us about God, and faith and the church. This Sunday we are asking everyone to bring a baby picture of themselves. (Better yet-a photocopy of your baby picture—those pictures are precious!)
And this morning I found my baby picture. The little girl in the picture looks like she is six months old. She is propped up at the end of a sofa. She is wearing a pink dress with bows on the front and lace around the hem. Her chubby legs peek out under the dress and on her feet, she wears anklets with flowers embroidered on them and white leather shoes, that are actually a bit scuffed. (She was the middle child, after all.) She has only a wisp of hair. There is just a hint of a smile. Her cheeks are round and rosy, the way all babies’ cheeks are.
The thing you notice most about her are her eyes. They are dark brown and each one reflects a single sparkle of light. She is looking at someone or something. Maybe the photographer was holding a teddy bear in front of her to draw a smile or maybe her mom was calling her name and clapping her hands, eliciting delight.
She looks content, assured, trusting.
In the picture, you can’t tell that she had an older brother at home or that one day she would have a baby sister. You can’t tell she will have a succession of dogs and a few cats during her life. Or that she will love to read. There is no way to know whether she will marry or what sort of career she will have. From the picture, you can’t detect the tiny hole in her heart that a doctor will discover years later.
She is just a little girl, content, assured, trusting, looking out on the world.
Is that how God sees me? Still sees me? Am I still a child of God?
She is lifting her right hand. My right hand, the one I raise in blessing at the end of every worship service. Maybe she is reaching for something, in the way all children reach out. Reaching for God perhaps? Reaching for grace? Trusting it will be there within her grasp?
As I type this, I see my reflection in the computer screen, an older face. I know now that that little girl’s trust has not been in vain.
God has been faithful, is faithful. I am a child of God. You are, too.
Every blessing to you,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Ave
West Des Moines, Iowa 50265
515-279-0826
We worship at 8:30 and 11 and we would love to worship with you.
This week at WDMUMC:
KidTalk! Bring YOUR baby picture on Sunday and we will have a place to display them. If you would like to make a photocopy, stop by the church and you can use our copier.
Celebrating the Music Ministry of Tom Sletto! Tom is retiring and this Sunday is his last day to worship with us. Tom’s wife Barbara will be here on Sunday too and we will enjoy their last Sunday with us. Come and thank Tom for his service to the church.
State Fair! If you have not signed up to work at our amazing state fair stand, go directly to wdmumc.org and sign up now! And bring a friend or a co-worker! Lots of fun and a very important ministry.
Our Visioning Team will have their final meeting this Sunday night. They have listened and learned and studied and interviewed and surveyed and prayed. Sunday evening they hope to finalize their proposal and make plans to present it to the church. Please keep the visioning in your prayers. Pray that our plans are in keeping with God’s will for our church and our neighborhood.
See you at church!
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