Jealous Of The Moon

I got a telescope for Christmas and used it for the first time this week. It was an amazing experience. Once I figured out how to use everything and how to make small adjustments, I got the moon in my sight and it literally took my breath away. It was a very clear night. The moon was full and shone brightly. It was desolate and beautiful all at the same time. I thought about how it hangs up in the sky with nothing but the invisible force of gravity to hold it in place. It looks so solitary but yet it is closer to the beautiful stars than I will ever be. I started studying the constellations. I've often read about people memorizing the night sky so they always know where they are and I said to myself, whatever floats your boat. But as I have gone outside every night and seen the same patterns over the last week, I understood how it could give someone a sense of familiarity and even safety. It amazes me that someone so far away can look up and see the same thing as I do. The night sky gives me such a sense of protection. I'm not sure why something so expansive and for the most part unknown should make me feel that way, but it's like the safety blanket used in childhood that makes you feel so comfortable and safe.
I also love the night sky because it is so far beyond me. This is the same reason I love the ocean. It gives me a sense that there is more that I haven't seen yet and that what I am doing here is not all that there is. Sometimes I get so caught up in looking at myself that I need to be reminded that there is more. Looking at nature in this way is one of the biggest reminders to me.
I asked my dad about starlight and light-years and if a star is so many light years away, like millions, and we don't believe the universe is that old then how do we reconcile that? He said he didn't know except that God created the universe with the appearance of age. It's so rare when someone can give me an answer and I am completely satisfied with it. But I was so satisfied with that. That's what dads are for. He always gives me answers.
Sometimes I have dreams that I can fly. I've flown up to the lucky moon and watched the stars from there. The moon looks lonely up there by itself, but what a view.
I catch my breath when I see a shooting star. Just knowing even a small part of the science of what it is and then seeing how unbelievably beautiful it is, I am in awe of God again. Nothing moves me to worship God more than nature does. The ocean with all it's beautiful fish, the huge mountains, the green grass, the blue sky, the incredible sunsets, the beautiful animals that have personalities all their own and the amazing unsupressed night sky that reaches far beyond anything I can see. It all so clearly shouts God's praise, just like the Bible says. Our God is truly an awesome God. One who is so clearly in control of these things would have no problem taking care me and my heart which wants to go every which way on its own. God will order my ways, my heart and my mind- and I need only to have the faith that He will do as He said He would.
"I have trusted in Your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt boutifully with me." Psalm 13:5-6