Ah, “let there be light!”
by Tim Darnell
Driving back from Colorado through New Mexico at night while my 6 fellow travelers slumbered, I was struck by the dizzying, dazzling presentation of millions of stars across the sky. I normally don’t see that many stars from our home in the city due to the interference of city lights. They’re useful, but at the same time they disguise much of God’s amazing celestial light show.
Caleb, my eight year old woke up and asked me what I was looking at, and I told him, “look what God has made and put in the skies. He knows the name of every one of those stars.”
Caleb said, “Oh, awesome! That’s a lot of stars! I wonder why we don’t have this many stars in Allen.”
“We actually do have the same number, Caleb. They’re just harder to see from where we live.
If we would turn down the lights a little bit, we would be able to see more of the stars He made. God sure is amazing.”
“Yes, He sure is, Dad.”
The Psalmist in Psalm 145 says, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation will commend Your works to another; they will tell of Your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and I will meditate on Your wonderful works.” vv 3-6
“They will tell of the power of Your awesome works, and I will proclaim Your great deeds. They will celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.” vv 6-7
What are we sharing with our kids – our grandkids? That conversation with my son was simple, but it was rich in important truth and observation that can and should be handed down from generation to generation.
God is incredible. He made the stars. He made spider webs. He breathed life into a son in whom I could take tremendous delight and love so deeply, so many simple gifts, yet awesome miracles – each and every one.
Caleb gets God’s wonder – kids do. We adults often miss God’s presence and majesty due to an excess of man-made ‘stuff’. God’s splendor is everywhere, and for us to experience it better we’ve got to turn down our own noise – the self-concocted interferences that too often drown out His glory.
“Dad, I feel like we should say a prayer. We need to thank Him for all those stars.” Caleb folded his hands together and said a simple prayer. It felt good. We connected in a way that a dad and son can only do in God’s presence.
And I realized, amidst my many failures, that I had done one thing right; and that was to acknowledge the mighty, wonderful power of God to the next generation. I don’t know that I can do much better than that. Caleb is a great kid, and I’m sure that he’ll do the same with his kids.
“One generation will commend Your works to another; and they will tell of Your might acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and I will meditate on Your wonderful works.” 145:4
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Prayer
Father, forgive us when we allow Your mighty works to be overlooked and missed because of our busy schedules, silly television shows, monotonous newspapers, production deadlines, or anything that clouds our view of You. We praise You and thank You, Lord, for Your incredible works and for who You are. Allow us to never miss and always share Your awesome glory with our sons and daughters. We recognize the ability to do that with them is a tremendous gift. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God Bless!
