Fleeting Thoughts

Each night for the past two weeks I've gone outside before I go to bed. No matter what the weather is like, I sit outside on the patio in my comfortable chair. I listen to my favorite music. I stare at stars in the sky. I write. I pray. And sometimes I fall asleep out there.

I look forward to these moments each day. When I'm driving home, exhausted from playing basketball, I think about it. About how relaxing it will be to sit out there and how much I enjoy it. The first night I sat out there I saw two shooting stars. I know that doesn't sound like anything too spectacular but in 22 years I'd never seen one shooting star, and I just thought it was great.

I think I've always kind of taken the beauty of the world for granted. Now I focus on it every night and even during the day. I try to admire the creation. The millions of stars that burn brightly from so far away. The moon that disappears behind a cloud but reveals itself moments later when the wind carries the cloud away. The lightning that illuminates the horizon for an instant. The whisper of the wind. The call of a bird. The silhouettes of treetops on a dark blue canvas. The stillness and quiet.

So many times I've gone on vacations to beautiful places. I notice how pretty and appealing they are, but it's mostly a fleeting thought. I don't really take the time to appreciate them. I want to change that. I want to worship God by admiring His creation and all the wonderful things of this world and thank him for allowing me to be a part of it.