Stars

Good morning.

I have two powerful memories of looking up at the sky. The first was at night in the New Hampshire mountains. Leaving our campfire, I lay down in a depression in the rocks and beheld a wide-angle view of the heavens. Lost in that sight, I suddenly felt like I was falling into the sky and reflexively grabbed onto the rock around me. Reassured of being safely nestled there, I relaxed and lay in awe of the beauty.

My other memory also took place in the mountains. I was in my tent and felt nature’s call. But, the wind howled and whipped through my fragile shelter. I was too terrified to get up and go where I needed to, and I sat, frozen in fear. As my needs became more urgent, I crawled outside, slowly stood and looked up. There, above, was a sky full of stars. And I realised that even as the wind threatened to blow me and the tent away, the stars remained in place just as they always had. The universe continued just as it always had.

In Jewish prayer, we acknowledge the Creator whose 'word brings on the evening, whose wisdom opens Heaven’s gates, whose understanding changes times and seasons, and whose will sets the stars in their courses in the sky'.

May we remind ourselves that whatever difficulties we may face in life, there are things that remain beautiful and constant. By opening our eyes to behold them, they can pull us back to the grandeur and wonder of creation and the world.