In the past, I looked up at the stars and saw shapes I could make, like I did out of clouds when I was younger. I saw them as dots on a map: steps I could take to reach a destination. Tonight I looked up and only found a star here and there. Multiple empty spaces were everywhere. Where did the stars go? What was in those empty spaces?

Could hazy clouds I could not see have come between me and my familiar stars? What was inside the shadowy voids? Should I grab my binoculars to search the skies? What would I find? Perhaps just more darkness. My eyes may not be strong enough to clearly see the depths of that mysterious expanse.

What was I missing? More parts of the universe, hiding in the dim sky? Was there beauty I could only see if I closed my eyes? Let me try. I close my eyes and at first I envision the patterns of my familiar stars that come out at night to grace the darkness over my head. There must be something more. I keep my eyes closed and I wait. A brilliant moving star, flying over me! It is moving too swiftly to simply be a star. Ah, it is the International Space Station orbiting in the night.

Patiently I wait, looking up through my closed eyelids, seeking something more. A large star: bright, immobile. Yet not quite a star. No, this must be a planet, Venus perhaps. Something with faint rings: Saturn. Ooh! This is fun! If I wait long enough, eyes wide open now, searching for a place where time and space are one, could I possibly catch a glimpse of God? The Creator of the entire Universe?? Would that even be attainable?

Oh…Look! There He is! I hear His breath in the wind. I see His hand swirling the stars in the Milky Way. I close my eyes and His voice is speaking through the rain drops and the thunder. The lightning Is a glance from His mighty eye. I feel His touch as I wander through the grass as it tickles my feet. Everywhere I turn with my eyes open or closed, I see God. His presence surrounds me. His loving touch fills my being.

He is here, always with me. He satisfies all the empty places in the sky and in my heart. All I have to do is stop and look and listen. I realize there are no empty spaces. God is everywhere.