Stars

For the past two Sundays, Pastor Sue has offered each person in attendance the opportunity to select a small paper star from a bowl she found that was left over from our pre-Covid Empty Bowl Dinner gatherings. Each star in the bowl has a typed word on it, a word that will, hopefully, be put into action throughout the year by each “owner” of their particular star.

If my recollection is correct, we have seen a similar batch of these stars at St. Stephen’s. I believe when Pastor Sue was a seminarian-in-residence with our congregation in 2013-2014, she introduced us to them. Now, she has brought them back for us to use this year.

The star I randomly picked has the word CURIOSITY printed on it. I smiled when I saw my word because for me this is especially fitting given my engineering background. Every now and them while I’m working on a solution to some problem around the house, my wife, Sue, will roll her eyes and shake her head when I spend more time trying to figure out why something isn’t working and how it could have been designed more effectively than spend time fixing what has gone wrong. So, given that I am naturally curious, my initial reaction was that I would have no problem incorporating “curiosity” into my daily routine.

I have decided, however, to take this one step further and try to find ways to be curious about things that aren’t quite as obvious as a leaking faucet. During the introduction to worship last Sunday, Pastor Sue commented that there were several “God sightings” in the sanctuary that morning. She specifically pointed out the presence of a small baby and a young child and several return visitors among the worshippers. With that observation, she challenged each of us to be aware of and to be looking for our own “God sightings” as we live our lives.

So, I am going to make an effort to use the word on my star to “see” God in new ways, in new places, in new situations.

Come to worship and pick out your star if you haven’t already. Then, be prepared to find your own God sightings as you intentionally incorporate your “word” into your daily routine.   

Bob Linderman