February is a good month to do some stay-at-home touring, the kind you can do when the weather may change our travel plans.

• There may be books left unread that can now be opened; notes that can now be written, a closet or whole room than can now be reclaimed from clutter. All holding the possibility of finding what was lost or discovering the value in something that was misplaced or almost discarded.
• The same discovery may be found in neighbors we pass by every day as we rush off to where we must be. Years ago a blizzard closed our road and brought neighbors together over homemade soup and bread. It was the first time people who waved in passing sat down and talked, and confessed, “We should do this more often.” The “more often” didn’t happen again until there was another winter storm!
• Another discovery may be so close we’ve passed by, never taking the time to explore a nearby place perhaps literally under our noses. When visitors from overseas said they wanted to see Philadelphia, the hosts found themselves seeing the city’s historic sites for the first time!
• Still another discovery may be a treasure wrapped in a person whose faith story is an inspiration waiting to be heard in a sit-down moment created by a traffic-stopping storm or a chance meeting over a warming cup of cocoa.
• And, saving the most important until last, there is Sunday’s worship at Trinity where plans changed by winter weather may make time to be at home with your church family and discover God who is waiting to spend time with us. Your Pastor, Martha B. Kriebel +