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Who has placed the stars...

Josh coaxed me (from my "busy-ness" around the house) outside to see the stars tonight. The stars are so beautiful and brilliant, often with very little surrounding light to dull them. The dry desert wind (cooler with the sun down) and the bats kept the mosquitoes at bay while we admired God's handiwork. God has placed each star in the sky and holds it in place - in constellations that can be recognized from all over the earth!

We reminisced about when we were in Zambia - now that was a beautiful sky! In a settlement some distance from the nearest town (Macha is where I'm referring to), the land is flat, the sky is as big as it gets, there is no light to pollute the view, and the stars reach down and grab your attention. Even as dread gripped my heart every time I made the walk from my home to the hospital, knowing that someone was dead or dying (the only reason they would call me at night), the stars reminded me of God's presence, his peace would overwhelm me, and I would breathe in the cooler night air and head for the emergency.

Now I'm thinking of the winter sky in Pennsylvania, Josh and my breath clouding the view with every exhalation, the crisp stars twinkling over our dating walks around Messiah College campus.

And the night sky in New Hampshire, where Ana was convinced that the moon's only job was to follow us and we marveled at the moon's different shapes and colors night to night, peeking through the many trees, following our car home.

What beauty God has given us, to draw our hearts to him, quiet our busy-ness, and remind us of our Creator and Sustainer!

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