Look at the Stars

Because my husband worked for years on a project in the Salt Lake City area, our family had many opportunities to tag along on business trips and explore the vast beauty of the wild west.  We're huge fans of the National Parks and have left our footprints on many trails throughout red rock country.  Sometimes I wondered how much our kids were either enjoying or appreciating these adventures.  We'd often have long travel days that began hours before the sun came up.  We dealt with altitude sickness and heard many complaining cries of, "How much longer is this hike?"  Yet, my heart and my photo albums are filled with snapshots of the times we shared together in places like Capitol Reef, Zion, Arches, and Bryce Canyon.

As we explored together, the kids picked up cigarette butts and filled my pockets with them while working to earn Junior Ranger badges.  They learned about things like cryptobiotic soil and Native American petroglyphs.  We saw cacti blooming in the spring.  We sniffed Ponderosa Pine trees after learning that their bark was used to make artificial vanilla extract.  My son threw up at Delicate Arch, feeling the effects of both the altitude and dehydration.  A few years later, he returned and completed the climb to the arch in triumph.  Once, I watched in horror as a small private airplane flew through the very arch under which my husband and son were standing.  I was certain that the pilot would clip a wing, showering them with metal shrapnel.  Even those experiences that were unsettling at the time have become sweet memories.

I think back to those experiences whenever I witness one of my children acknowledge beauty in creation.  A sunset rich with pinks and purples and blues.  Morning dew on a spider web.  The sound of a woodpecker in a silent winter forest.  The night sky filled with stars.  And I am grateful.




127. An invitation from the beloved teenage son to follow him outside to look at the stars in the clear, winter night sky.

128. God’s covenant promises as reflected in stars which can’t be numbered. “And he brought him (Abraham) outside and said, ‘Look toward the heavens, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ “

129. Children who appreciate the beauty of creation.

130. Memories of family vacations.

131. National parks

132. The opportunity to look through old photo albums to find pictures for the beloved son’s yearbook.

133. What some of the photos chosen reveal about my son’s heart and what is meaningful to him.

134. An elder showing up in the school parking lot just when I needed him. The reminder that God is present. Always.

135. Submission.

136. That He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.

137. The bitterness of sin revealing the sweetness of Christ.

138. That the Lord disciplines those He loves.

139. Hen parties.

140. Those who care.

141. Catching up with a friend who’s moved away.

142. Apples and pheasant in Calvados and cream sauce, lovingly prepared by my husband.

143. A court decision in which justice was upheld.

144. Celebrating victories.

145. Getting important tasks done, even if not triumphantly.

146. Finding new book recommendations.

147. The way my son’s thank you notes reveal his tender and caring heart.