Out of this World
I’ve grown to have quite a fascination for outer space, stars, planets, and all things out of this world. Pretty sure going to visit a Space Center only intensified this fascination. I felt more excited in my thirties than perhaps the children around me in the exhibit halls.
I remember as a kid laying outside of our home in the country, on our backs on the sidewalk, watching the meteor showers. I remember the feeling as if time stood still while our family watched the sky.
I remember as a kid flying in an airplane and being in awe with the look of the land down below the clouds.
The school field trips to the planetarium were my favorite. Those big chairs, all leaned back and looking up. Why didn’t we do this more?! And are planetarium field trips still a thing?
I remember even as I grew up and met my husband, the enjoyment we gathered just by sitting outside talking about constellations and waiting for meteor showers. [And not to mention the things we have learned about how it all works. It’s pretty fascinating. And if you ever get to visit a Space Center (shoutout to NASA), your mind will be blown. Super cool.]
To look at photos taken from the International Space Station, I am blown away by the reality that there is so much more beyond what I can see here on Earth or when I fly in an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean.
When thinking about all of it, there’s a sense of calmness. A sense of stillness. And not to mention the complete vastness of this planet Earth, our atmosphere, and all that’s beyond in space.
C R E A T I O N.
It’s phenomenal.
Genesis 1:14-19 [New Living Translation] gives a glimpse into the well-known creation story.
14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
I’m quite sure some folks could challenge my thoughts - but I’m not sure I can look at creation, space, stars, planets, and NOT believe in God. It’s a miracle to me. It’s amazing.
Just to think in terms of something bigger than me. That this life is not all there is. Each day I wake up, there is a reason and a purpose for life.
When I look at stars and seek to learn about planets and constellations and meteor showers, I am immediately speechless in how it is all so unique and intricate, yet so vast and more than any human being could have put together. And when I think about the infinite qualities of space, if God created all of that, just how amazing is it that He created you and me?
It gives me a sense of hope today. A sense that I am enough in the eyes of God. Yes, I may be small compared to our atmosphere and the galaxy we are in, but God made me too. If He knows every detail out of this world, He surely knows me, just as I am, where I am.
I am thankful to be held in the arms of God. Life can be crazy sometimes. To know that in our solar system, in the vastness of the galaxy, to the third planet from the sun, to the little town on the East Coast, I am seen and known by my Heavenly Father. And you are too.
My prayer is that you can see just how unique and special you are in God’s eyes. You don’t have to have it all together. Life doesn’t have to be going well for you. Just as you are, just where you are, God sees you and God loves you.
