The stars. How often do I notice them? Do I stop every time I see them, and take time out of my day just to admire them? I don’t. I just hurry along. I take them for granted.
Do I notice them when they aren’t out? Will I stop and look up to see that it’s a cloudy night? Is my night not made complete because I fail to see the glittering in the sky? No. I just think it’s scary when it's dark out here. The thought of no stars is not my focus.
It took a five year old to make me notice them; to really notice them. Or, actually, notice they were missing. I was out walking with him one night, and he stopped me. He looked up and told me that we had to find the stars. I looked up, too. I couldn’t see anything but black. They were covered up by the clouds. He asked me where they had gone; he sounded a little worried. I told him they were there, but we just couldn’t see them.
I told him it was a little bit like when something is hiding behind a building. If the building was moved, he would find it. He may not have understood, but what else would you expect from a five year old. Not what I got, that’s for sure.
I know that I didn’t expect him to care that much about the stars. He thought that the stars had gone to another planet that night. Who is to say that when the clouds moved the next day that the stars would still be there? Old habits and patterns do. But once one falls into old habits and patterns, they stop appreciating the beauty of everything. They will take the little things for granted.
I may not want to admit it, but I’ve been alive long enough that most days I just plan on waking up the next morning. I didn’t take time at night to admire the stars. Instead, I would hurry to get a night’s rest, so I can start another day.
For what? Is it so I can get through one more day to get to the next? Then, that becomes all I do. Live life to get to the next step. I stop living for the now. I live for tomorrow.
But tomorrow will never come. Why not take the time to look at the stars? I walk slower and take everything in. I pray to God that whenever my time comes that I will be ready. I pray that I’m not left wishing I had done something differently, or said something else. I hope that I can sleep with a peace of knowing everything is okay, and if it’s His will, that I wake up. I look to the stars.
I believe in noticing the little things, or rather, noticing when the little things are missing. I might notice when things aren’t there, just as that five year old. But would I appreciate every time they are there?
He does that, too.