Night sky. Stars lost in the city’s loud light.
Raised in a large urban center, I look back on my childhood. And remember something different.
Limited electricity. Unpredictable outages.
Frequent darkness in the evenings.
And stars.
We could see
Kerosene lanterns cast a dim glow in our house those nights.
No electric fans to stir the air. Humid air.
So we put on mosquito repellent. Pulled an old quilt outside onto the grass. And lay down.
Looking up, we could see.
A myriad of stars standing out against inky black.
Night sky
On those night sky viewings, we felt the vastness of the universe from our small square in the back yard.
We looked for various constellations.
Pointing out Orion’s belt. Big Dipper. Little Dipper. Southern Cross.
Crickets provided a soundtrack.
“Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight…”
Songs. Stories. Laughter. And quiet.
Unpredictable
Over the years, in various places I encounter the unpredictable. Inconveniences, in my mind.
Lengthy power outages. Or no water in the pipes.
Interrupting the pace. Cutting short schedules.
Throwing a wrench, so to speak, in my carefully laid plans.
Frustration ensues. It’s easy to focus on the situation I can’t change.
Look up
When our children were young and started whining about something, I’d say, “Don’t be a whiner. Be a designer.”
Because I needed to hear those words too.
Still do.
Instead of stewing and complaining? It’s time to look up and get creative.
Designer
Those evenings in my childhood, spent under a brilliant night sky, didn’t just get us out of a stuffy house.
They turned us from discomfort. To something greater than ourselves.
Changing our focus from the temporary to the eternal. Turning our eyes to the One who set the stars in place.
Designer of the night sky.
Designing us.
All the stars
“The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth….
Let the whole earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him….
We wait for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
For our hearts rejoice in him
because we trust in his holy name.”
Psalm 33:6, 8, 20-21 CSB
What about you?
What helps you move from whining or complaining? How has the Lord helped you see the big picture?
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Healing hurts and counting stars – My mother – Keeping a sense of humor – Turn your eyes – Feeling sand between my toes – Power outages
12 replies on “Night sky”
This is a great word, Susan! I’m sharing.
Thank you!
My favorite way to move away from my complaining is to ask someone else what they see God doing. Or to admire the beauty of nature and marvel at God’s constant creativity!
Amen. Thanks for sharing 😊
Thank you, Susan, for this great read! It provides me with much food for thought!
Thanks, Mary!
Susan, I don’t know if the night sky you saw when the kerosene lamps were out were in Jakarta or elsewhere, but the poetic meditation is lovely, and I hope they were written on what was a blessed Mother’s Day for you.
Happy Mother’s Day to you, Eleanor! This was in Surabaya 😊
Beautiful and helpful blogpost. “Don’t be a whiner! Be a designer!” ❤️
Thank you, sister😊
Beautiful thoughts! Thanks for sharing that. Thank you for the comments about moving from a complainer to a designer. To focus on God and ask how He can use situations to His glory..from complaining to designing.
Thanks for your encouragement, Janet. Grace to you, sister.