The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. Psalm 19: 1 - 2

Perseids

In August every year, the Perseid Meteor Showers are visible to those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, with peak viewing times occurring mid-month. Since our old farmhouse is in the Midwest, in the middle of cornfields, woods, and gravel roads with no streetlights or city lights for miles, we have a pretty good chance of catching a glimpse of these streaks of light. According to NASA, "Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere and disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky" (solarsystem.nasa.gov).

Now, I've always thought of these annual meteor showers as passing by Earth, but in actuality, Earth is passing through them! To me, the difference is important. It dawned on me that we're passing through these "leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids" in much the same way the whole world is passing through these troubling Covid times. But take heart!

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!  So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. II Corinthians 4: 17-18a

As Jesus said:

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Lately, it's been a comfort to me to walk outside and look up at the sky. During the day, clouds stack up or dissipate, and sunrise and sunset astonish with colorful displays; at night the moon and stars have their say. Night or day, the sky's beauty and vastness speak to me of things beyond myself and my earthly concerns; it speaks to me of eternity. I look up and think of life on the other side of what I can see and that calms me, changes me, comforts me as it corrects my perspective.

Hear my prayer, O Lord!
    Listen to my cries for help!
    Don’t ignore my tears.
For I am your guest—
    a traveler passing through,
    as my ancestors were before me.  --Psalm 39:12

As Earth is a traveler passing through the Perseids each year, so we are travelers passing through these temporary troubles on our way to eternity. Look up and see!

Daye Phillippo

September 2020