AND this is the time of year the annual Perseid Meteor shower streaks across the nighttime sky. I am like a kid at Christmas time, giddy with anticipation.
I am a constellation geek. On these nights I quietly get up in the middle of night and slowly make my way out to our backyard deck to watch God’s magical performance as he bounces delightful sprigs of light between the Big Dipper and Orion’s Belt. Just love it!
Saturday night
I ventured outside twice. I delighted in the array of zooming lights whizzing above me. No wait, they aren’t meteors; I was watching fireflies. How foolish I felt. Oh well, I will wait a little longer. Then a little more time went by. YAWN. When I finally gave up the number of meteors I observed? Zero. Zilch. Nada
I was bummed!
Sunday night
I peeked out several times late in the evening. Too much light yet for a good view so decided another middle of the night trip would be necessary to get my annual fix of shooting stars. Yep, my internal clock (and full bladder) woke me about 1 a.m. Out to the backyard with high hopes.
Within minutes I saw them. Meteors? No. A fast moving bank of clouds approaching from the west masking the early morning performance I longed to see.
Number of meteors seen? Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Last night
Well I am writing this late evening with the hopes of still seeing my friends dance across the sky tonight. As of now, it is cloudy. We are under a thunderstorm warning. The odds are not in my favor. My third night may result in more zeroes, zilches and nadas.
Sigh. I am disappointed.
So tonight I pondered this frustration. Why did I feel this way about such a silly event? I am ashamed to admit probably because not seeing my loved meteors remind me I am not in control.
There is nothing I can do about making them appear at my command, just when I want them to.
I can’t part the clouds like a stage curtain on cue.
All the whining and wishing and praying won’t make a difference.
Yet the meteors did appear. They dashed across the sky during the daytime when human eyes couldn’t see them. They continued to sprint at night even though clouds blocked my view. They were there as promised. I just couldn’t see.
Last Sunday the lectionary highlighted verses of faith.
In Hebrews 11, Paul told about Abraham being called to a new place and “he set out not knowing where he was going.” He also defines faith in these verses as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
In Luke 12, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little flock for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Not seeing the meteors reminded me about faith.
Faith to follow God even when I am not sure where he is leading.
Faith to know He is the Creator of all, even stars and meteors.
Faith to trust a little deeper God’s promises.
Faith not to live in fear, but in hope.
We can’t predict or control the future. It is possible I may never see a shooting star again while on earth. But I can hope. I can be thankful for God’s delightful creation. I can hold onto assurances of blessings not seen or even imagined.
And even if I can’t see, I will trust in God’s promises – a celestial show I can count on.
What has deepened your faith lately?
You’re welcome, Jean. I think God uses this job to keep me close to Him. It’s the only way that I can make it!
What a gift you have to have a job that builds you up. So many people don’t have that and sounds like you are aware of this and savor this. You have reminded me that I too am in a good place right now and am grateful for. Thank you for sharing!
My job has strengthened my faith, Jean. Things are so out of hand that the only thing I can do is call on God and believe Him to keep me in one piece every day. And He does! The more I see how He’s given me peace and joy in the midst of impossible circumstances, the more I see my faith in Him increasing.
wow what a story. You gave me goosebumps. Lets both keep watching for rainbows and praying!! Praying for you and your struggles too.
I wish you had seen a few shooting stars but I do feel a little better knowing I wasn’t the only one bummed to miss them. Yes I used a blanket too. Praying you have a wonderful weekend.
Being a mother is a walk of faith, and nourished my faith too. I certainly learned much about love and forgiveness! Thanks for stopping by and commenting
After long stretches of faith, He is faithful to drop those evidences of HIs presence when you need it.
This summer I have had a trial that I am still working through the grief over. In my hardest of hours, vibrant rainbows have appeared. To me, it is miraculous, and God showing me that He is in attendance with me. There have been lots of tears, sleepless nights, and rolling over of events and scenes.
A few days ago, my husband took us to breakfast at a restaurant that had a gift shop. My two young daughters went with Daddy to look around and came back with a remote controlled fighter jet. The anticipation for the children to get home and fly thing was almost more than two little girls could bear. I was forcing myself to make it through the motions of daily life wanting to be alone and focus on my wounds, but as soon as I sat down, the girls ran back into the house shrieking that they had crash landed the plane in neighbors soybean field next door.
The field covers acres of lush greenery and looking out across the expanse of acres, my heart sunk as I reasoned within my self what would be an acceptable amount of time to search for the new plane before I could go back in. I breathed a simple prayer, Lord, please help me find the plane… and then began apologizing for praying about something so silly in light of all that is wrong in my life much less the world as I began walking the perimeter of the field.
The Lords Word spoke softly in my heart that He wants to lead me and guide me in ALL things.
Ok then, I thought, lets find a plane. I stopped where I was and walked out into the soybeans. I let my fingertips brush the tops of the crop and asked the Lord if I was in the right place. THat moment, at my fingertips… the plane. “Its ok,” I called out to my children,”God showed me where it was!”
He is there… in the dark, in the clouds, in the field, in despair… He will always be.
HI Jean! I was out there last night, wrapped up in a blanket just staring at the sky. Nada. I was so bummed. (And not just because I had to use a blanket in August!)
But I have faith it was there, I just couldn’t see it, and that is the definition of faith anyway. No comets, but a reminder of what faith is. Pretty good trade off!
Peace,
Ceil
Motherhood in general strengthens my faith regularly. It’s hardest thing I’ve ever done – good thing I’m not going at it alone! 🙂