stars

On Sunday night I made several unsuccessful attempts to contact my family. I finally gave up and decided instead to meander up to the 8th deck in the late hours of the night. As I walked up the steps leading to deck 8 I was greeted by an enfolding canopy of vibrant white stars that hung proud fully in the clear horizon.

I really love stars. At home I have spent many a night stretched out on a blanket gazing at their beauty.

Stars make me feel small. They remind me that their is so much more than simply what I can feel and touch. They remind me of how vast and deep and wide their Creator must be. They remind me that He who hung them in to place surely has my entire life carefully kept in the center of His hand.

And they are just lovely. I also enjoy them for no other reason than just because.

Sara Groves wrote a song about her similar passion for star gazing, the chorus says,

Maybe this was made for me
For lying on my back in the middle of a field
And maybe that's a selfish thought
But maybe there's a loving God

If someone told me three years ago that on December 2, 2007 I would be sailing off the coast of West Africa on an international hospital ship, admiring the bold sky on the open waters, I would have said you were completely crazy.

But here I am.

Being a Christian is such an adventure. We just never know what's next, which terrifies the reasoning mind's and frees the faith filled heart.

I hope that if someone told me today what I will be doing on December 2, 2010 I would think they are crazy. The endless possibilities make life so much more exciting.