"Midweek and Time to Curl Up in a Warm Blanket" Pastor Cindy's Devotion 01/29/2019

Good morning friends—
Brrrrr!  I hope are you somewhere in the warmth of your home and family and friends.  Warmth is in short supply!

The church will close tonight at 8 pm.  We will re-open at 8 am on Thursday.  The weather reports are awful.  Record-setting cold.  A stalled car and a few minutes in the cold could result in serious injury or worse.  The universities across the state are closing.  Local schools are closing, including the West Des Moines Schools.  So, we too will close.  Our primary concern is safety.  The activities of the church will go on, but not tomorrow.  Tomorrow all day, we are closed.

All this has me thinking about the pace of our lives.  You know the drill—up and out the door while it is still dark.  Home after dark.  Kids activities.  Church activities.  Family activities.  Cub scouts.  Soccer.  Show Choir.  Picking up subs for supper.  Dropping into bed while the dryer is still running, drying the clothes we need for tomorrow.  For too many of us, life is like that.  Lots of good things, but too often too much.

Maybe the weather is God’s way of humbling us.  Snowstorms, dangerously cold temperatures, tsunamis, we have no defense against them.  Snow slows down our movement.  Flesh freezes in sub-zero temps.  We can only hold our breath for so long underwater.  And the pace of our lives, maybe it is not healthy for us either.

So just maybe, tomorrow is a gift.  Slow down, stop for a day.  Look out the window.  Go back to bed.  Sit quietly at the table and have a cup of coffee.  Let the kids build a tent in the living room.  Make popcorn.  Take a nap.  Ask God how God intends to spend the day.

Imagine a day when the whole world (or at least our corner of it) simply stops and rests.

Sorry for any inconvenience this causes.  Hope there is a warm spot for you to curl up in and enjoy.

Every blessing,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
515-279-0826

Our vision prayer for 2019: 
God, today let me faithfully live your story for my life, my church, and my community.
We worship at 8:30 and 11 on Sundays and we would love to worship with you?
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Coming Up at WDMUMC:
Note:  Game night scheduled for this evening is canceled!
This Sunday we will celebrate baptism and this amazing moment when God meets us in water and spirit.  Pastor Cindy wants to hear your baptism stories.  Email her at pastorcindy@wdmumc.org.