Stars or Fireworks

One of my family's favorite traditions is to watch the fireworks together on the 4th of July. Our special favorite is to travel to Cherry Grove Beach where we can sit on the beach and watch the fireworks as they are set off at the pier. From this vantage point, the fireworks explode right above us and seem to fill the entire sky. We have seen some pretty interesting combinations, even fireworks that explode into specific designs like smiley faces or American flags. The colors are brilliant and inspiring, and each year it seems the "Grand Finale" comes too early in the evening.

But, as much as I like fireworks, and would not want to miss our 4th of July family tradition, I must say that no matter how beautiful, amazing, unique, or inspiring these explosions of color are I always have this feeling of incompleteness at the end of the evening. The fireworks never fully satisfy my desire for a good show. It always seems that they don't last long enough, aren't full enough, don't quite finish the job...

Now, stargazing on the other hand, has more lasting impressions. Laying flat out on a secluded field gazing at the summer sky, just watching the stars in the heavens up above....well, it is a God moment to say the least. Isn't it a fantastic experience to just sit and view those pinpricks of light, knowing that their formation has never changed for thousands of years! No wonder the stars have always been an attraction to mankind. In a world where everything is changing (and it seems this is happening at an increasing pace), we can always count on the stars - and even project exactly where they will be on any given day!

If we ponder long and hard on the stars, we can also begin to develop an understanding of God's patience and timing. Imagine that when we look at the stars in our sky, we are actually seeing a light that was formed many, many years ago and is just now able to be seen here on earth. In a world where speed seems to be our measure of everything, how fast a car will go, how quickly we can travel from point to point, how fast we can receive a signal on our computers, how quickly we get an answer to our email, we even measure our time in nanoseconds...to think that the stars are still measuring and performing in light years and occurrences in the heavens today will not be viewed here on earth in our own lifetime, sort of puts God's timing in perspective. It really gives us an insight to the vastness of eternity.

In his book "The Attentive Life" by Leighton Ford he states "Stars are like messengers sent by the Creator who also made us, to lure us into pondering the meaning of it all and to consider the great end of our lives. Fireworks are like the diversions we create to keep us from facing the reality of our lives."

So in my pilgrimage, I must concentrate more on stargazing...

...and less on those distractions that prevent me from understanding the reality and perspective of my own life.

As I continue to search for my special place to have a silent retreat, I will be looking for somewhere that includes the ability to see the stars. I intend to do a lot more stargazing in the future!