Starry Starry Night

Star light, star bright
I wish I may, I wish I might
Have my wish, I wish tonight....

Twinkle Twinkle little star
How I wonder where you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky...

Starry starry night...

These are just a few of the ditties that come to mind when I look up at this big ole Kansas sky at night!  AMAZING!!!!

We live nestled in the woods, away from city lights and street lights...  it is total blackness come night time.  I have been taking nightly dips in the pool and just floating on my back as I gaze up at the beautiful stars, as they just hang there like well place twinkle lights.  And I am completely awestruck as I think about all who have gazed upon these very stars from the past... such as... Galileo, Vincent Van Gogh, and even Jesus himself.  I can't believe that these stars have remained in their same spot for billions of years before I have had the pleasure to enjoy them myself.

As hard as I try to think about the fact that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand in every ocean, every sea, on every beach, sand dune, and every desert... I just can not wrap my mind around it.  It literally gives me a headache trying to conceive that fact because... I can't even imagine how many grains of sand are in my hand when I scoop up a handful from the beach... and then I look at the sky and think... but there is sooo much space in between each star... how could there possible be more stars than grains of sand on earth?  Totally mind boggling!

I wish I knew my constallations better... but I only know the dipper stars... note to self... I must get a book and study the stars so I know what I'm looking at during my float and gaze pool moments.  I am, and always have been obsessed with anything 'twinkly'... such as christmas lights, lightening bugs, and the stars.  I literally can get lost in myself while time passes by just watching twinkly things.

Out here in Kansas where the sky is soooo huge and the nights sooo dark, the stars look like you could just reach up and pluck them right out of the sky.  As a child... and again with my own children... we have always gone outside to lie on the driveway on our backs just watching the stars... it's such a quiet and peaceful thing to do on warm spring and hot summer nights.

My youngest daughter moved away from home (when we lived in Kentucky) at the tender age of 19 to study fashion in LA... after I helped her move in and was about to board the airplane, I told her to look up at the moon every night and know that I too would be looking up at that same moon and would be thinking of her and wishing her a good night.  After a few weeks went by I asked her if she had indeed been doing this... her reply was.... "MOM!!!  I can't see the moon or stars in LA"... upon asking her why not... she replied that between the smog and city lights it was impossible to see the moon or stars.  On my next visit out to LA to see her... I saw for myself that you really can't see the stars or moon... but then... I guess LA has enough stars roaming the streets they don't need to see anymore in the sky!  This is also true for NY City... you can't see the stars or the moon. I find this quite sad because I find such comfort in seeing the stars and moon each night before I crawl into bed.

During the winter I am only able to glance out the window to see the moon... it is usually too cold outside to star gaze... so I am taking full advantage of every summer night now to enjoy my star gazing.  Better than "stopping to smell the roses" is "stopping to gaze upon the stars"... tonight take a moment to appreciate the wonders and beauty of GOD's gift of twinkle lights!... it's completely magical!