St. Peter's Lutheran Church

PASTOR’S MESSAGE - February 2025

I was watching a woman the other day at the dentist’s office. She was playing the game called “Peekaboo” with her baby. As I watched, she’d say, “Where is Mommy?” and hide her face behind her hands. Then she would pull her hands away, saying, “Peekaboo, I see you,” and the baby would laugh.

From the baby’s point of view, when she hid her face, the woman vanished out of sight, out of mind. Or so I used to believe. As it turns out babies are smarter than we thought. According to an article in the Atlantic Monthly a while back, babies understand that objects, or people, persist over time even if hidden. Show an object to a baby. Hide the object behind a screen. Wait a while. Remove the screen. If the object is missing, the baby will act surprised. I can imagine the baby’s surprise if the mother was not there when she removed her hands while playing peekaboo.

My point is that we all appreciate that, even when we cannot see those we love, when their faces are hidden from us or they are far away, our love for them persists. God has designed the human heart to love even when we can’t see or be with the ones we love. Inside our hearts, they persist; in our hearts, we feel they are there.

The same is true for God’s love for us. During this month of February when we tend to think of love and celebrate love on February 14th, a special day called “Valentine’s Day” Let us remember that God is always with us and God’s love is never ending. That is the one promise God has made that we can always count on. We will never be alone; God will always be with us. God’s love is there for us even when we can’t feel it.

Psalm 100:5 “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever: his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Happy Valentine.

Rev. Perucy N. Butiku 
Coverage Pastor