The Night Sky

 When I consider your heavens,

    the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

    which you have set in place,

 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

    human beings that you care for them? 

Psalm 8:3-4 (New International Version)

Too dark for a picture last night, but this was my spot. 

Before I went to bed last night, I thought I would hunker down on my deck and see if I could see any shooting stars. The Perseid Meteor Shower is going on now through August 24 and we are currently in the peak of it. The experts say that during this time a person can see 60 to 100 meteors in an hour. It’s been more than a couple years since I intentionally watched for meteors and since it was warm and clear last night, I thought I would try it.

Why do we find shooting stars so fascinating anyway? Is it because it is something different in the night sky? Is it because, even though we know scientifically what they are, there is still a mystery to them? Is it because we want to make a wish?

I don’t know why they fascinate me either. The greater fascination for me, however, is just the night sky. A hundred-million stars, some bright and twinkling, others hardly a pin point in the black fabric. Cassiopeia, Orion, the Big Dipper – the only constellations I know and can easily find.

The distance, the vast expanse. During the day, the sky feels finite, as if there is any end to it, as if that blue is the ceiling. If there are clouds, they mark the end point.

But at night, the stars go on and on forever. They do not end.

Thank You, Lord, for giving us the stars, the moon, the sun. 

Thank You even more for Your love which does not end. Amen.

The sky this morning, where I watched for shooting stars last night.
In twenty minutes, I counted ten, two of them even left a momentary tail in the sky.