Sky experiences

I love looking at the sky. I always have. I remember when I was a little girl, around 5 or 6 years old, spending afternoons just laying on the front lawn in the soft cushiony grass and staring up at the clouds as they go by. My mom and I would tell each other the animals we saw in the clouds and laugh about how ridiculous some of the clouds looked. I remember this one specific day when I was in elementary school and I was walking to the cafeteria for lunch and as I walked outside I remember the sky was this deep dark piercing blue color that was just fascinating. A few summers ago when I was in Colorado volunteering at a camp for a month we went out at night a few times into a clearing and laid wrapped in blankets, looking at the stars. I have never seen such a busy, sparkling, beautiful night sky. I swear there's more stars out west then anywhere else in the world. There were also the warm summer night in high school where my friends and I would spend hours sitting out on the driveway or in someone's backyard just hanging out, talking, and star gazing.

Today I had another amazing sky experience. It was around 5:30 or so this afternoon and I was out on the bay kayaking. It's been a while since I've kayaked, and the last few times I had been I guess were just on small lakes and rivers, so being out on the water like this, the way I was today, was incredible. As I paddled past boat docks and wooded islands, around bouys and crab traps, I was amazed at how small I felt on this great expanse of water. And then when I looked up at the sky, I was even more belittled. The sky looked bigger and wider and greater than I've ever seen it before. In the distance, the horizon was both so close, yet so far. And though the clouds above my head, with their gray underbellies and white puffy tops, appeared to be so close that i could just reach up and rip them out of the sky like a piece of velcro, I knew the sky was beyond my comprehension. The sun was fading behind the clouds with the oncoming dusk, creating a golden glow to everything under the sky. I felt like I was right below heaven. I felt so small. I was so humbled.

When you're in a position where you are astonished at the beauty of nature, and you are actually humbled by what you see, you become so thankful for the gifts of nature, life, everything. As I was paddling back to my house this afternoon, not only did I feel that the clouds above where within reach, but I felt so close to God. Like he was right there- like I could put out my and and give him a high five- that kind of right there. Even though I couldn't actually see his face or literally hear his voice, I still saw him and heard him. He was in the glory and greatness of the clouds spanned across the heavens when I looked up. He was in the shining summer sun and the wind that gently pushed my boat along the choppy water. I could imagine him whispering behind my shoulder that I am his, and he loves me. Not only did I have a great sky experience today, but I experienced God.