I remember – vividly – the night I first saw – really saw – the stars. I was riding with my friend Loretta in the back of her parents’ station wagon – those were the days before seat belts when it seemed perfectly logical for kids to lie down in the back – as we drove from Midland, Texas, to Ruidoso, New Mexico. And Loretta and I could see the stars – the whole entire universe, it seemed. And we were awed.
We exclaimed about their beauty, we looked to see if we could pick out the big and little dipper, but most important, we began to ask the question that people must have always asked: how is it possible for it to go on forever? And if it does end, what is on the other side of it?
I was 10 and had been in Sunday School classes for at least 6 years, but that night was the first time I truly understood the concept that there were things – there was a power – far beyond my ability to understand. I was overwhelmed by that power, by God.
Back home, I made it a nightly duty to check in with the stars – my bed, next to a window, gave me a clear view of the night sky. So, I fell asleep after reciting the prayer my mother had taught me and feeling the awe of the God who could answer my questions.
In 1969, I moved to Houston, a city that moves and grows under a dome of light. We are busy here, travelling downtown on crowded freeways, spending our money in large shopping malls, sending our children to mammoth schools. We do all this without being able to look up, to see the night sky, to pause for a moment to contemplate that question: how is this possible?
Instead, we believe that we are in charge: of our lives, of our nation, even of our environment.
If we use metal straws and canvas shopping bags, if we recycle and switch to electric cars, we believe we can save our planet. But, as Will Willimon says in his book Heaven and Earth, if we continue to try to correct the environment with these actions, and without asking for God’s involvement, we will give up – because all our little efforts will not work, and we will grow tired of the efforts.
Yes, our earth has a climate problem. But in our arrogance, because we cannot see the stars, we believe we can solve the problem without Him who created all of this.
I have a solution for all the problems that are besetting our nation and our world. Let us move out, if only for a weekend, from under the lights. Let us look again at the majestic display of lights in the sky. Let us, once again, wonder.
Let us come back to the awe of the One who can make a star.