The Advent of the Stars

            There is something about being a college student in which the spontaneity of life overtakes you. One night, in the early hours of the morning, a small group of my closest friends here at Appalachian decided that we wanted an adventure. We gathered blankets and jackets and set out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We ended up at the Julian Price Memorial Park along the banks of Price Lake. We sat along the banks of the lake and marveled at the stars that peaked out from the canopy of clouds.

            I started a conversation with a friend who I have come to love, and we talked about the meaning of our existence. We looked across the lake, and saw the beauty of the stars light years away. I couldn’t help but feel God at work in our lives, mending, creating, restoring while we were watching the stars. I was reminded of what Martin Luther once penned long ago, “God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.”

            God at work, in the early hours of a Monday morning when we all had tests and assignments to do the next morning, you could feel the tangible evidence of God’s grace at work in the conversations going on. Our pasts, our histories were revealed in a different light, our futures looked a little brighter. Maybe it was Orion’s Belt shining in the darkness, but I tend to cling to the hope that it was God in our midst.

            Eventually we realized we needed to head back to the university, and actually get some sleep. As we drove back to Boone we could see the twinkling of the city coming into view. I thought of that wonderful town, of how God came long ago to save the likes of us. I thought of Advent, which is quickly approaching, in which with great expectancy we await the coming Christ.

            After I had dropped my friends off and was heading back to my dorm, I was listening to the radio. Christmas music was on, and regardless of how early it may seem to me, one of my favorite carols was on. The wonderful line, “Yet in thy dark streets shineth 
the everlasting Light, the hopes and fears of all the years 
are met in thee tonight.”

Within the streets of towns and cities, God is at work. The hopes of our lives, the fears of our existence are brought into a different light in the presence of the incarnate Savior. God is bringing about God’s reign through ordinary experiences like stargazing.

            As we approach the Advent season, as we approach the beauty of everything we hold dear, may we always remember the experiences that make this time special. Whether that be a late night adventure with friends, a feast on our tables, or the wonders of this time, may we always find God amidst our ordinary existence.