Star Gazing

This weekend I checked off one of those items on my list of "things that I have to do sometime during my life." I slept under the stars.

Usually when I go backpacking, it is way too cold to do such a thing, but this weekend was perfect. The tent that we brought is unique in that it is made entirely of see-through and breathable mesh. Instead of putting the fly on top, we left the tent wide open to the elements and to an extraordinary night-time view. Before I fell asleep, the last things my eyes saw were the tops of the trees blowing in the wind and a moonlit sky peeking through the branches.

This weekend, as I looked up at the sky before I fell asleep, I realized that the moment was a team effort. When you backpack, you never carry just your own stuff. Everyone packs a little something that benefits everyone else. Someone carried the tent, someone carried the poles, someone carried the ground cloth, and someone created a beautiful sky that I could stare at for hours upon hours.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how this is true in the church as well. We all have a gift - something that we carry that blesses everyone else. Whether that is the gift to teach, encourage, comfort, work hard, make art, listen, or love, we all have something to pull out of our packs that gives joy and hope to those around us. That is the beauty of the church. When we all get together and use our individual gifts to uplift one another, then we can stand side by side and marvel at the stars and the Maker who knows them each by name.