A message from Pastor Miranda:

January 2012

Miranda’s Musings. . .

. . . A passion for snowflakes

On a resent visit to the City Museum in St Louis, I discovered the most amazing person. On the 3rd floor just past the Tiny Train Railroad, tucked between the World’s Largest Pencil and the Everyday Circus is a tiny room filled with paper works of art. This six-sided room is the studio of a woman named Marion Nichol and her chosen medium is paper snowflakes. But these are not just snowflakes, they are also animals, or insects, or holidays, or musical things, or flowers, or mystical creatures, or just about anything that Ms. Nichol can think of.
Upon entering her snowflake Queendom, I was warmly greeted by Marion herself who invited me to choose one of her patterns to create my very own snowflake masterpieces while she shared a story. As I was sitting there cutting out my butterfly snowflake I was struck by three things. First, here is a woman with amazing gifts. Not only is she an extraordinary artist and a wonderful storyteller but she is also an amazing teacher who can help people learn to cut out these sometimes intricate works of art.
Second, here is someone who is helping to carry on a traditional folk art that is all but lost and seldom appreciated today. Finally, I realized here is a woman who has found her passion, creating whimsical snowflakes, and has found a way to make a living doing it. Ephesians 4:11 says “The gifts [God] gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.” This list is by no means complete but God has given all of us different gifts, talents, and passions. Some have a passion for welcoming visitors like Roslyn Dial and members of our outreach committee. Some have a gift for music like the members of our worship team, hand bell choir, and chancel choir. Some have a talent for creating crafts for kids like Sandy Weber. And some have a passion for snowflakes.
Some of us get paid to do what we love. While others do it simply because they love doing it. Whatever it is that we are good at or passionate about when we use these God given gifts we show glory to God. Whether it’s welcoming visitors, singing and playing musical instruments, doing crafts with kids, or creating paper snowflakes God’s love is present if we realize it or not.

Pastor Miranda