Last night was billed as one of the best nights to go out and see meteor showers in Western North Carolina. The moon was cooperating and fairly new; the clouds decided to remain on the edges; the air was cool, and I even put on a light sweatshirt. They said the show would be best after midnight and even better before dawn. But that time frame was not really realistic for me, so just after ten, I shut off all the lights in the house, took a flashlight and went out to the deck and lay down, my eyes scanning the sky.

I wish I had a camera that could have captured the moment. Well, not right away – it takes a while for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and begin to see what is really there, a universe so vast and awesome that I know these words are a feeble attempt to describe. The frogs were croaking down at the edge of the water; the cicadas were louder, buzzing and pitching a symphony of vibrations; the shadowed outline of the treetops politely framed my canvas and there I was alone yet a part of a whole I tried very hard to comprehend. The poetry of the Psalmist helped especially the question: “When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you fixed firm. What is man that you should note him and the human creature that you pay him heed…” (Psalm 8:4 – Robert Alter translation). Theology aside, the Biblical poet captured my feelings.

Who am I in the scheme of this vastness? Why am I here and where is here anyway? The Perseid meteor shower did not disappoint. At first, they were just like darts of light playing with my mind. They would appear and disappear in the space of an instant. But then God decided to up the ante and show me awe and amazement. It came from the northeast and shot across the night sky. Brighter and more intense than the stars in the background it was an arrow of light pointing to infinity. I use the word God as an anthology of thoughts and emotions – I have no pretense in believing that I know what the word means besides it points to a vastness of unlimited potential. Besides it pushes me to see the beauty and mystery of existence. Besides it offers me the opportunity to reflect on my place on this planet that is spinning through space and time surrounded by sparks of creation’s light. 

I wanted there to be more biggies – more arrows, more shooting streaks of light, more exclamation points but one is what I got. One is all I needed. One is all there is.