Starless

Every night, before I go to bed, I let my dog outside.  I always walk out with her at night, unsure of what dangers may be lurking out there.  It's also my opportunity to connect with my Creator before bedtime as I search for glimmers of the heavens.  

(Those who know me well are probably expecting me to burst into song right here...a Switchfoot song, that is.  "When I look at the stars, I see someone else...")

Actually, I do look at the stars.  Every single night, I look up.  Something about seeing those natural sources of light give hope and direction.  Tonight, at least initially, I saw nothing.  As my eyes adjusted and I looked straight up, above shone one bright star.  "Ahhhhh," I thought, "at least there is one star out tonight."  As I focused on that single star, others began to appear in my peripheral vision.  The harder I looked, the more I saw.  Some were quite faint, but others were remarkably discernible.

Isn't that just like life?  So often, in times in darkness, we cannot see even the tiniest shred of hope.  We search and search, but see nothing.  But if we are persistent and patient, eventually God shows us a light, sometimes even a bright light.  As we begin to focus on the gift of that light, we begin to see things more clearly, and further hope comes into view.  More light.  More direction.  More hope.

I know some of you who read this blog are going through some dark times right now.  My prayer for you is to look for that one star that is shining just for you.  Get out there and look.  It's there.  I promise.