Beware the ides of March approach!
Anyways, I’ll get to that bit later. Point is, I was outside watching the stars. And the thing is, the sky is quite clear tonight and the stars are of course, as dazzling as ever.
I was mesmerized, having not star gazed in quite some time. And I thought to myself — I bet David watched the stars at night as a shepherd, a king, and an old man. I’m sure he was inspired to write some of the psalms by looking at more than just hills. He saw so much in his lifetime.
And then I pondered on something EVEN more wild. I started thinking about how all of humanity has looked at the stars at night; and most of them were probably just as amazed as I am, and even more inspired.
I went on to wonder, my ancestors looked at these very stars. Sure. Things have shifted. Some things have changed. But they last a very long time. All the greatest poets, the notable people that changed the world, they all had this in common. Okay..but blind people would be the exception. They are just as important as those that see them.
But I digressed, this is a common memory we share. A fascination that entrances even those who aren’t religious. I suppose this speaks to all humans in a way. To look this far beyond and see the universe lit up in the darkness. The firmament, it has order and beauty. And it is beyond our reach.
At least for now, we aren’t even close to reaching the stars. We’ve barely reached our moon and neighbor planet.
But, I figured that the Prophets, Apostles, Saints, and even Christ Himself, all share this experience with us. And while Christ is God and ruled it all still, he witnessed it as a man too. He stood on this very ground, so to speak. In our form, and I’d wager that he sat back and looked from our point of view and reminisced about when He made them.
The more I think about this, the more I realize the stars have given hope to many souls. Those thinking of something larger than themselves. It’s truly a much needed escape. Especially in times of turmoil and distress.
It can be healing to go outside. To wander, and to reflect on one’s self. On that note, I think that looking at the stars has always been significant to me. So maybe not everyone feels this strongly about it..
But I like to think on the ides of March so many years ago, when Ceasar was assassinated; and everyone was afraid; on whichever side of the mess, maybe they looked to the stars. They tried to cope with how the future would look…
Or when the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia, also on the ides of March but years later… Maybe people looked to the stars who were afraid. And they saw this constant order of light in the distance. Even though darkness had just occupied their very home.
I mean the list goes on, all throughout history, not just on the ides of March, but terrible things happen to us humans all the time. Or perhaps we do those terrible things ourselves.
But I think the hope in these thoughts is the same as the stars in a way. No matter what is happening here, they are so grand. They’ve outshined us all, at least for now. And they are beacons of light in the darkness. Something I believe we can all become if we look to Christ, Who shines brighter, longer, and more brilliantly than any star.
I think though the distance seems so far between us and the stars, we long to bridge the gap and become more than what we are. We want to do more than cope with hard situations in our time. Honestly we all want to rise above and join the light.
We want to go on, and endure the night. And I believe no matter how hard it gets, there’s always that hope to shine.