When I first came to live in the United States, the sky
seemed very different. It was more expansive and I used to spend a lot of time
looking at the wonderful clouds during the day and peering at the vast array of
stars at night.
Job 9:9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the
constellations of the south.
Initially, I couldn’t get my bearings from the night sky because there were so
many other stars that I had never seen in Scotland. So I looked for the three
constellations mentioned in the Bible – the Great Bear, Orion the Hunter, and
the seven sisters of Pleiades. Once I found them, I felt that I was back in
familiar territory and my sky view was re-established.
For most of my life, I have loved the stars. The first time I became conscious
of them occurred when I was about four years old. My family was walking home
together one winter’s night and I was playing a game with my shadow as we passed
the street lamps one by one. Suddenly, I lost my shadow because the street lamp
was broken and it was dark. I think I was about to cry when my Dad quietly said,
“Don’t be scared, John. Look up at the sky.”
As I lifted up my head, I saw hundreds of shiny, twinkling dots in the sky. I
was mesmerized and wanted to stay in the dark in order to keep looking at the
night lights. “They’re called stars, John,” my Dad said, “and they’ll always be
there, even in the darkest night.”
Almost every night since then, before I go to my bed, I wander outside in the
dark to look at the stars. They link me to happy days with my Dad in the past;
they still mesmerize me with wonder today; and I see my future in the stars as I
look forward to being with the Maker of the stars and the Creator of the
universe. They are an important part of my life and I am certain that through
Jesus, they will still be a glorious part of eternity.
Prayer: Lord God, thank You for the stars and for being the Maker of all the
constellations, star systems, and stellar galaxies. Thank You for the wonder of
starlight in the midst of the darkest of nights. Bless us with the goodness and
eternal light of Your Son Jesus, our Lord and Morning Star. In Christ’s Holy
Name, we pray. Amen.
John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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