“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder , consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars…”
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art.”
The stars that I see are not heavenly beings in the night sky. I’m thinking of bodies terrestial, I’m thinking of human stars –
Daniel 12:3, Amplified, “And the teachers and those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness -to uprightness and right standing with God [shall give forth light] like the stars for ever and ever.”
…’shall give forth light – like the stars for ever and ever’.
I’m thinking of the stars that ‘shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father’. Matthew 13:43.
Those who faced trials and pain with courage and strength and even …joy. And those who ran to their Refuge in times of trouble, their Jesus- their hope and stay.
Oh, these aren’t people in robes or standing behind pulpits. They never had great speeches. Their LIVES were the speeches! They trusted God and when troubles came, they ran to Him and then… they ‘walked’ a life of hope and joy even in great weakness and pain at times. Their lives were like the ‘stars’ that shone each day you saw them, like a shining sun: Which “rejoices like a strong man to run its race.” (Ps. 19:5).
I am sure that you have these ‘stars’ in your life as well. The ‘stars’ that shine bright in my life are, Carol and little Suzanna, and Nick C, Robin, and P. Gary, Paul, Jenny, and Michelle, and Mary B., some I knew well, others only through their story, but nonetheless, they still ‘give forth light like the stars for ever and ever’. Dan. 12:3, Amplified. I am sure you have a ‘heaven of stars’ in your heart as well!
And today, we remember Carol. She is another ‘star’ in my heavens, bright as the sun to me. She did shine with joy and grace and warmth and encouragement and giving always- with every breath!
She was an inspiration to me, even though we only had moment upon moment together chatting at the front desk of the Y. She made an big impression on me and she splashed ‘joy’ into my day! Thank you Carol for splashing joy in my life, even though I did not know you real close. We just shared ‘cancer’ and the Lord and family and both lived ‘life’.
I am sad Carol was so young to go home to the Lord. And it makes me think of another ‘star’ in my heaven that was only 4, only a child- and I only knew her story- but she lives on in me, splashing hope- just as Carol will live in me to ‘splash joy!”
Little Suzanna was only 4. And I didn’t even know her, only her story told through her father as she battled a rare form of cancer. She is my teacher, (‘and the teachers and those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament’). Why? Because of her simple faith and trust in God as a little child. And she ‘shines like the brightness of the firmament’ to me. What if her father didn’t write her story? I would have never had the opportunity to see this star.
I will share only one little story that I remember time and time again. Suzanna’s father noticed that while she was playing a simple game of freeze tag, she would always pose in positions that pointed to God. Susanna would freeze with her arms and eyes up, or with praying hands or kneeling. And this was at a time when she was battling a life threatening disease. She was teaching us how to worship! Her heart was united to God.
I always felt like Carol had an attitude of grace and joy. The pose Carol made continually was a pose of ‘joy!’ These are my stars!
1 Cor. 15:41-43, Amplified, “The sun is glorious in one way, and the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own (distinctive) way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead. [The body] that is sown is perishable and decays, but [the body] that is resurrected is imperishable -immune to decay, immortal.
It is sown in dishonor and humiliation; it is raised in honor and glory. It is sown in infirmity and weakness; it is resurrected in strength and endued with power…”
Suzanna shines bright even still. And so our dear Carol as well. Peace and comfort are knowing that these loved ones are resurrected in strength and endued with power – no more pain and suffering. We ‘joy’ in God’s truth and it sets us free indeed! May we let the ‘stars’ in our hearts continue to illuminate all of their ‘gifts’ to us each and every day.
The word glory means ‘outshining’. Oh, and how they shine. “I see the stars,” and I can hear the stars sing,
“Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art, how great Thou art.”
“Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation.
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.” 1 Chronicles 16:23-25.
So today, I will see my teachers, and we might be inspired to pray:
“O Lord, that my life might shine for You, even in the simplest of ways, this day. Fill me with Your Spirit as we have ‘stars’ in our life to illuminate all You are – Hope and Joy and Peace and LIFE EVERLASTING with LOVE Himself – forever! (And forever…is a long time!” In Glory and joy!
Thank you my dear friends for shining so brightly in my heart everyday, continually…
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