Night sky

It is pitch black when I gather my warm dressing gown around me and carefully step down onto the back lawn in the darkness.

There are stars forever - shapes and patterns, skymap's gift of fascinating names, planets tucked below the horizon, the exact location for the South Pole and constellations brought to life.

There is awe - wonder - but no words really touch the vastness of the arcing expanse - the shining beauty of it all.

I think of you Jesus - getting up early to pray - and I wonder if, as part of your prayer, you lay on your back and let the stars sink into your soul, and drank in the joy of knowing them all by name.
And as you lay there, and the birds began to sing before dawn,  maybe these moments of connection with the breadth and height and depth of your Creation helped to strengthen you for the day ahead.

Before I go indoors, I look for - and find  - the Cross and its two pointers. I notice that my inner self settles gently, knowing I've found my familiar place in the sky, my reference point on earth.