God Who Made the Stars

Psalm 19:1-3

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech,

And night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language

Where their voice is not heard.

Last Saturday night, I had dinner with my big brother, Danny, and he began to tell me a story from childhood. He remembers going with Mom and Dad to Michigan to visit Aunt Doris when he was about 12 years old (a couple of years before I was born). It was very memorable for him because our family didn't travel much. While they were there, Aunt Doris gave them a set of World Book encyclopedias. (I remember those very clearly. I used them for every paper I wrote in elementary school.) Danny began to study things about the universe... The Milky Way, Andromeda, the distance between the Earth, the Sun, the planets and other things. He was fascinated by what he read. One clear night he went out onto the porch and sat gazing up at the stars and he realized there had to be a Creator. He prayed a simple prayer, "God Who made the stars, reveal Yourself to me." There was no immediate answer. In fact, it wasn't until Danny was sixteen that our family began to understand Who God is. After Danny asked Jesus to be his Savior, he remembered his prayer on the front porch on that starry night. God had finally revealed Himself. I'm very grateful for my big brother that he invited God into our lives.

The Compass in My Soul

Every kid needs guidance. They don't always get it from their parents, but in my case I did. I think I was two years old when my family started going to church, so I don't have a memory outside of that culture. Some of my earliest memories are of things like my dad teaching me to pray, my mom teaching Sunday School and Bible Clubs in our home, and my dad gathering the family to read from the Bible before bedtime. I learned how to read by reading the Bible.

My family wasn't perfect. We were kinda weird in a lot of ways. My mom became sick and bedridden when I started first grade, so dad cooked our meals and took us all to church during that time. Mom remained ill with one affliction or another up until I was a teenager. I was the youngest of five children and very close to my mom. I would often stay home with her while the rest of the family went to Sunday or Wednesday evening church services. I was always afraid she would die, so I asked God to let my mom live to see my first child.

One November, I had just turned 12, my mom was laying in her bed and I was sitting with her. She told me she thought this was it - that she was going to die. I began to pray for her and the room started shaking violently. After a few minutes, Mom said she felt like she would be okay. The newspaper headlines the next day said there had been an earthquake centered in Illinois. To me, the timing was supernatural. Mom didn't have an instantaneous healing, but she soon started on some new medication that really helped. By the time I started high school, mom started to go back to church and even teach children again. Eventually, we started teaching together.

Mom was able to be at our wedding. A couple of years later, she and dad were at the hospital with us when Darcy was born 5 weeks early and nearly didn't survive. Mom went with me to the hospital every day for 3 weeks until Darcy was well enough to be released. Then she spoiled her as much as we would allow.

Mom had several battles with cancer that began in 1978 and she passed away in November of 1979 - just a month before Mandy was born. It took me a while to recall what I had asked God to do for me... to let my mom live to see my first child. It made a little easier to let her go when I realized he had loaned her more time.

My parents, especially my mom, helped shape my lifelong relationship with God. I could easily sing the Compass in My Soul song Darcy wrote...

You have raised up this child
In the way she should go
And I will not depart
There's a Compass in my soul