Snuggled up next to me, my toddler and I sat in the living room as the sunbeams danced above our heads.
The couch cushions and mountains of pillows hugged us in a much needed warmth.
Snuggled beneath the arms of my toddler were his friends. A mountain of stuffed animals accompanied Barbie dolls who he's named after family members.
And one by one he began telling me their story.
Papa doll was playing guitar and Daddy doll was going to go on a boat ride.
And next was Moira, the kangaroo with her baby joey.
"Moira is here" he said with a smile on his face.
I asked him to clarify again... "Moira?" is that her name?
And with great affirmation he told me "Yes!" Moira was his friend.
I wasn't quite sure where the name Moira came from.
And so later that evening as we tucked him into bed, I asked my husband if he knew.
Did we have books about Moira? None that we could think of.
Did we know a Moira? No one came to mind.
Then the next day, as I tuned into an online worship service where a friend of mine is a pastor (This was one of the faith communities we had tuned in to worship with while I was on maternity leave this past spring), we joined them in the prayers of the people.
And my toddler pointed at the television and in great joy exclaimed "Moira!"
He had heard her name during the prayers of the people months ago, and somehow it stuck with him.
Our toddler had remembered Moira.
And now months later as he shared again her name with us, he too invited us to remember what it means to be part of God's church in this world.
For God's church is not a building or a place we go, but rather God's people all around this world. And by the power of the Holy Spirit we are joined us with God's people and with the whole communion of saints, into this beautiful, abundant, life-giving community of faith called God's church.