Seeing Stars

“The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:41‬ ‭

I’m seeing stars.

Do you see them, too?

These lovely sedums are blooming their hearts out right now. I have six different kinds, and each has a flower head made up of tiny florets of various shades of pink to red.

And each individual floret is a star.

Imagine.

It’s like a mini Milky Way, right there in the garden.

It’s hard to choose a favourite. There’s the pale pink – delicate and fairy like. The dark pink, a bolder statement. The burgundy, strutting her stuff with confident swagger. Then there’s the red – an unusual shade for this time of year, it’s a real show stopper.

But each one has a beauty all of its own.

So it’s not hard to nod in agreement with the apostle Paul as he waxes poetic, ruminating on the amazing majesty of the night sky. He’s seeing stars – pondering how each has its own different kind of glory.

We’d all agree. The super Nova, the dwarf, the near, the far – each star reflects a different light in a different way, uniquely lighting up the night sky with a myriad of twinkling lights that have marked the days and guided the traveller for millennia.

In theory, we’d even agree that humans shine in unique ways, too. It’s easy to see the talents and skill set of those around us.

It’s a little harder to see it in ourselves.

But friend – you shine, too.

There is beauty and sparkle all around us, a dazzling array of gifts and personalities and knowledge and experience. It’s time we stopped seeing the gifts of others as competition, and started seeing the beauty.

Seeing stars is a mindset. A choice. A determination to notice and be blessed by the positive traits in those around us. Just as the Milky Way is a gorgeous composite of widely diverse celestial forms, our earth is populated by a stunning variety of humanity – shapes, colours, sizes, all cloaked in skin, all holding to dreams and hopes and experiencing joy and delight and pain and common suffering.

What if we left home each day with a determination to see stars?

To count and treasure the blessings, the contributions, the skills, the dignity of each fellow human we came into contact with.

I would think our whole world would bud and bloom with the glory.

Begin to see others as stars with me?

Father, how richly diverse Your Universe is, populated as it is with such a variety of stars. How richly diverse is Your animal kingdom! And how richly diverse is Your precious community of global humanity. Bless us with the ability to see and enjoy the talents and gifts of others. Amen.