“Look Up!”

No question there is a lot of unrest in our world at present. Where can we turn for peace? What can settle our troubled minds and reassure us that things will be OK?

Here is a passage from the book "The Farm by Lough Gur", written in the late 19th century by a young woman growing up on a farm in Ireland. As a child in a Catholic boarding school she recorded:

"Mother Aloysius did not teach religion, yet it was through her that my soul was awakened. We had been reading aloud in class — in those days an important part of education — and the chosen passage was the eighteenth psalm: “The Heavens show forth the glory of God.” We were cold and listless and read badly. Mother Aloysius stopped us. 'That is enough. You do not understand what you are reading.” That night when we went up to bed, she came to my dormitory and asked the nun in charge to allow me and one or two others of the reading class to go up with her for a few minutes. We wrapped blankets round us and up the dark stairs we went to the top floor where there was a big window.

“Shut your eyes children,...now open them!”

The night was frosty, the moon was away, the sky was blazing with stars. My head was dazzled, my heart was overthrown by the glory and the wonder of the sight. “Is this God?” I asked, trembling. Mother Aloysius drew the blanket closely round my shivering body. She spoke softly the psalm that we had not understood:

“The heavens show forth the glory of God and the firmament declareth the work of His Hands. Day to day uttereth speech and night to night sheweth knowledge... The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: The testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones.”

We had our first lesson in astronomy. God seemed to fade from the bright sky. I was content. I had drawn near unto Him as only children may. I could never again be afraid."

When you're discouraged and troubled, LOOK UP! Above us by day and night are the stars...sentinels of peace, reminders of the assurance of God, of His steadfastness, and of His unchanging love for each of us. God is in control now and always, the heavens bearing witness.

May-2017