Continents from overhead...

One of the most wonderful things about living in the country is the pure clarity of the air, untainted by city lights and building tops. The sun paints the sky in radiant hues morning and evening, and during the day the cheerful blue is the park that clouds stroll through, or the resting place of a languid fog, or the dance floor of a frisking rain.

But perhaps the most enchanting feature of the vast sky comes to life when the rest of the world, hand in hand with their dreams, is drifting off to sleep. Against the striking contrast of deepest night, the stars shine with a serene brightness as they hang effortlessly in the sky. Sometimes it seems that gazing up at the stars as they lean down to shower the earth with a gentle light is the surest cure to a sad or lonely heart. Standing in the cool night air, under the impenetrable gaze of those millions of starry eyes, it's easy to forget one's troubles and dismiss the day's disappointments. I always find that I am refreshed and re-cheered by a few minutes' contemplation of the night sky.

When I look up and see the myriads of tiny lights "like tiny paper shapes, intricately set in place", I am once again struck by the awesomeness of the Creator. Perhaps it is not so much the beauty of the stars themselves that fills me with quiet peace and subtle joy, but more the knowledge that I love and serve the God who created them...