March 5
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy;
Matthew 2:1
Since I was a child I have always been a “sky watcher” to a fault! Can’t tell you how many times I have stumbled because I have been looking up instead of where my feet were going! When I was little, my parents brought the whole family to an open field to witness “Sputnik” pass overhead in the late night starlit sky. Patiently we waited and watched, unsure of exactly what we would see, even though my Dad told us it would look just like a moving star. I still remember the scent of fall and the chill in the night air as we danced about in the crackling autumn leaves, chasing each other my brother, sister and I, occasionally looking upward while we played tag. Seeing the same stars in the unchanging sky we saw a few minutes before, we soon become bored with the whole scenario, when suddenly, my Dad said, “Look!” Upward all our heads went and three little kids were hushed with the sight before them! There it was moving rather quickly in the sky, cutting a path through the heavens, like a dazzling star on a mission. I remember how my heart leapt! It was awesome! My imagination soared with images of the view from there and what this apparent sphere was made of and how fast it must be travelling, and I wanted to know just how far from God it was. From that point on, the sky held my interest day or night. I never wanted to miss seeing another extraordinary event the sacred heavens might hold.
Years later when one of our local meteorologists noted the imminent appearance of the Leonid Meteor showers, my husband and I gathered our children with us in the middle of the night to look for “shooting stars.” How excited they were at first, and then the inevitable boredom set in as the stars did not materialize at the rate which had been first thought. All of a sudden though, there was one! Our son, Tom spotted it and four more faces turned to the sky in anticipation, not to be disappointed! We still talk about that cold night that we sat in the yard huddled together bundled up in blankets, with our two dogs sitting next to us, the world hushed, our breath a hanging mist in front of us, waiting and waiting. Then the joy of seeing those falling stars! Just as mine did, their appreciation of the beauty of God’s mysteries grew.
One can only imagine how the Magi felt upon seeing the star over Bethlehem, there in the night sky, brilliant and unwavering; leading the way to the precious infant, Jesus and his Mother, Mary! What emotions they must have experienced on their camels trudging through the sand, one eye on the sky not wanting to lose sight of this majesty and one eye ahead to be sure of their animals’ steps and their own safety; their hearts pounding in expectation. Yet patiently they kept going on a mission, cutting a path through the sand. How great the reward for their determination!
Heavenly Father, thank you for the beauty of the night sky, for the starlight you give us to light our way.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy;
Matthew 2:1
Since I was a child I have always been a “sky watcher” to a fault! Can’t tell you how many times I have stumbled because I have been looking up instead of where my feet were going! When I was little, my parents brought the whole family to an open field to witness “Sputnik” pass overhead in the late night starlit sky. Patiently we waited and watched, unsure of exactly what we would see, even though my Dad told us it would look just like a moving star. I still remember the scent of fall and the chill in the night air as we danced about in the crackling autumn leaves, chasing each other my brother, sister and I, occasionally looking upward while we played tag. Seeing the same stars in the unchanging sky we saw a few minutes before, we soon become bored with the whole scenario, when suddenly, my Dad said, “Look!” Upward all our heads went and three little kids were hushed with the sight before them! There it was moving rather quickly in the sky, cutting a path through the heavens, like a dazzling star on a mission. I remember how my heart leapt! It was awesome! My imagination soared with images of the view from there and what this apparent sphere was made of and how fast it must be travelling, and I wanted to know just how far from God it was. From that point on, the sky held my interest day or night. I never wanted to miss seeing another extraordinary event the sacred heavens might hold.
Years later when one of our local meteorologists noted the imminent appearance of the Leonid Meteor showers, my husband and I gathered our children with us in the middle of the night to look for “shooting stars.” How excited they were at first, and then the inevitable boredom set in as the stars did not materialize at the rate which had been first thought. All of a sudden though, there was one! Our son, Tom spotted it and four more faces turned to the sky in anticipation, not to be disappointed! We still talk about that cold night that we sat in the yard huddled together bundled up in blankets, with our two dogs sitting next to us, the world hushed, our breath a hanging mist in front of us, waiting and waiting. Then the joy of seeing those falling stars! Just as mine did, their appreciation of the beauty of God’s mysteries grew.
One can only imagine how the Magi felt upon seeing the star over Bethlehem, there in the night sky, brilliant and unwavering; leading the way to the precious infant, Jesus and his Mother, Mary! What emotions they must have experienced on their camels trudging through the sand, one eye on the sky not wanting to lose sight of this majesty and one eye ahead to be sure of their animals’ steps and their own safety; their hearts pounding in expectation. Yet patiently they kept going on a mission, cutting a path through the sand. How great the reward for their determination!
Heavenly Father, thank you for the beauty of the night sky, for the starlight you give us to light our way.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson