“We have Jupiter in the telescope! Come over!” 

It was 8:30 on a school night and my daughter and I had just walked in the door from soccer practice. But a chance to see Jupiter? We would not pass that up! We got back in the car and drove to my sister’s house where my excited nephew told us that we would be able to see Saturn and its rings too. The combination of a rare, clear starry night in Washington state and Jupiter’s closest position to the earth in 59 years provided for the best views of planets we had ever seen. We spotted 3 of Jupiter’s 80 moons, Saturn and rings, and countless stars. Looking up and out at the beyond filled us all with awe.   

But underneath the awe was a feeling I did not expect: relief. As my eye met the Red Giant, a planet 11 times the size of earth and 367 million miles away, I felt a sense of lightness. If God can create something as massive and complex as the solar system, my fleshly worries are in good hands. That night, I needed to see to believe, to take in a visual of the incomprehensible scale and order put in place by our Maker. Looking through the telescope did not change the orbit of chaos in my life. But seeing things I have never seen before renewed my trust that there is so much more that God can and will do.