I grew up in Wyoming so I treasured my panoramic view of the stars as seen through the dry mountain air. But, apparently, I had always viewed them with some sort of anchor in the scene such as a house or a tree. One night I decided to position myself with no earthly objects to clutter the view; I saw only stars. In one terrifying second I experienced my body plummeting into space. I grabbed the grass to keep from falling and steadied myself by looking at our house. I felt shocked and silly!
If sadness overwhelms me or depression threatens to oppress me, I look at the stars. I now live in a city with high humidity so I only see a few, but that is enough to remind me that life is much bigger than the hassles of my day.
Star facts amaze me. Our sun is just one of over 100 billion stars (suns) in our galaxy the Milky Way, and there are billions of galaxies in the known universe. Billions of us tiny creatures live on a speck of dust orbiting our mid-sized star.
These facts enlarge my perspective, but star scriptures return my hope. One of my favorites is, "He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name" (Psalm 147:3–4). Who would think that such a Creator would care about us so personally?
David wrote, "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:3–4)
It is hard to comprehend that a God, who not only created the galaxies and a beautiful planet called earth, would come to this tiny planet as a baby. He not only came to a planet so small that it cannot be seen from another solar system, but He came to an enclosure for sheep, and Mary laid Him in a feeding trough. He came as the Lamb of God to give His life for the souls of people like us.
God also answered the hearts of wise men who must have been seeking their Savior, because God sent a star to guide them to Christ. "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" (Matthew 2:1–2).
I have been wondering what gift I could give to the One who has everything. I thought of another favorite scripture. Jesus, the Star-Maker said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (1 John 1:9–12).
Have a loving Christmas!
Sue Carlisle grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. An enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, her passion is to encourage people to look at creation and see our awesome Creator. Sue is author of Walking with the Creator Along the Narrow Road (2013 Indian Life Books) and a columnist for Indian Life. She and her husband, Wes, now live in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
