GUITAR DAD

 
 

For as long as I can remember, I've been keenly aware of the heavens. At night, I gaze skyward to inspect the moon and stars and ponder the mighty universe. Lately, though, I've been downright mesmerized by the constructs of space, as my son and I eagerly devour an especially good (and well illustrated) astronomy book, one chapter each night.
 
Did you know that the Sun is 93 million miles from Earth, and that it takes eight minutes for its light to reach our eyes? Well, that's just an appetizer. The most distant galaxy discovered is more than 12 billion light years away. A single galaxy (and there are untold billions of them in the universe) can stretch hundreds of thousands of light years from end to end, with millions of stars burning within its boundaries. And this entire endless circus is built on gases, dust, celestial explosions and gravitational pull.
 
After centuries of careful study and amazingly astute findings, mankind is still just scratching the surface in mapping and explaining the cosmos. To consider the vastness of space makes me feel so tiny, so fleeting, so insignificant. On the other hand, it does make me feel like part of something beyond powerful, beyond understanding. It's kind of a religious feeling, now that I think about it.

 


Comments

NiteSkyGirl

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:44:30

What A great story !!!!!!!
I can feel your joy for the night sky . Very deeply stunning to read. Awesome info ! I've written about it on my blog and included a link.

 

Richard Smith

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:37:38

What a wonderful investment you are making in the life of your son! Do not stop your pursuit, you will be rewarded with tremendous experiences of discovery, awe, and childlike joy!
By the way, I am learning how to play the bass guitar! Having a bunch of fun with this, and my family is being very patient with me!

 

Laurie

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:44:41

Hi Guitar Dad. I too have been designing a Weebly site and saw yours as featured so I thought I would check it out. It is very well laid out and I like your writing style. Good job! Music has played a very important part of my life as well. I am only in the beginning stages of creating my website and it's far from complete -- actually I hope to be adding to it regularly -- but I think it's off to a good start.

I just feel motivated to comment on this post in particular, because it is so true that our brains cannot even begin to grasp the immensity of these collections of stars or the vast distances involved. And it reminds me of the creative, organizing force behind it all. “Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name.” (Isaiah 40:26) If the creation is awesome, how much more awesome is the Creator! And even when we do feel very tiny and insignificant by comparison, the very fact that he has numbered "the very hairs of your (our) head," shows that our Creator truly cares for us as individuals. (Matthew 10:29, 30) A very, very amazing thing to think about.

So thank you for letting me tour your site. Keep up the good work! :)

 



Leave a Reply