Yesterday was a very good day for me.  First off, I’m still on Lake George (fabulous location!).  Secondly, a rain storm came from the north and cleared off well before 10pm.  Thirdly, since the rain was gone, the skies were clear and a north breeze was blowing, I was able to head out to the top of the boat house to look for the Perseid Meteor shower without the inconvenience of mosquito’s and other night bugs that leave big welts.

This is sort of an annual thing that our family likes to do.  When we lived in Dallas the night sky was never dark enough to actually see the stars.   Our home in CT is surrounded by numerous trees that shield our view of the night sky.   But here in the North Country, the sky can be pitch black especially when the moon cooperates and the carpet of heaven allows the pinpoints of light to shine through brilliantly.   

Last night, I sat out with some friends and children and we ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ at the brilliant show that the meteors provided.  There were a handful of meteors that crossed the night sky and left sizable tails.  They were breathtaking and I’m certain that our shouts and applause reached across the lake into the neighboring houses.  Mind you we were only able to stay awake until nearly midnight… which meant that we missed the peak of the show.

If you are a meteor watching expert, you know that you may sit for several minutes without seeing any bright streaks (at least in your line of sight).  During that ‘downtime’ we found ourselves studying the mass of ‘out-there-ness’ and marveled at God’s creation (Gen 1:14-15).  We talked about the ‘big dipper’ and the ‘little dipper’ and tried to sort out some of the constellations.  I considered how long those stars had been hanging exactly where they were.  I thought about how Moses, Abraham, Issac, and even Jesus marveled at these same celestial bodies.  I also marveled at how my God could come up with that many names in order to name each and every star (Psalm 147:4).

My distractedness led me to think about just how insignificant I really am.  My life on this earth is similar to the lifespan of a meteor shooting across the sky.  I was reminded how easy it is to miss the ‘forest for the trees’ … (translated miss the Heavens for the meteors).

My thoughts paralleled that of the Psalmist…

Psalm 8:3-9  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care or him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.  You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:  all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.  O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Praise God for His amazing creation; for the zillions of stars in the sky and for the fact that He knows each by name; for giving us the gift of sight so that we can behold His handiwork. 

Be blessed today and get outside tonight (August 12, 2009) if you get a chance to behold His Wonder!