An Astronomer’s Worst Nightmare

Clouds.

Period.

…And lights…but mostly clouds.

I used to not care about the large accumulations of water vapor that populate the Earth’s troposphere, but now that I’m an amateur astronomer I hate them with a fiery passion!  Nothing ruins a day filled with anticipation of wonderful stargazing with a dark sky like the appearance of clouds at sunset.  Or better yet, planning on taking my binoculars out at night when it’s clear out then waiting an hour only to find a completely overcast sky!  I find myself shaking my fist at the heavens and cursing the clouds for ruining what I had planned for that night.  Nothing reminds me more of the One who is in control of the heavens better than ruined plans.  I remember that the universe is God’s and that He controls every aspect of His creation including the cloud cover and that He allows me to gaze upon His beauty indirectly through His beauty revealed in the heavens.  The celestial beauty on a clear night testifies to the beauty of the God who created it.  If God covers the night sky with clouds then I’m not supposed to view the heavens that night for whatever reason.  I might think it’s stupid that it’s cloudy but God has other plans for me that night.  The purpose of my new hobby is to become better in tune with God and His presence in the universe and my life and to love Him all the more.  So remembering that He is in control of the cloud cover should help me to remember His sovereignty on both the grand scale of redemptive history and the minute details of my life such as whether or not I go stargazing on any given night.

The fact is:  we serve an amazing God who is both Creator and Father.  He the conductor of the cosmic orchestra we see from our terrestrial home and the supporter of our lives who loves us and cares for us even down to the smallest of details.