Beyond My Vision

Song Stuck on the Brain: Yes You Have by Leeland

I was going through some old papers last night, and I ran across this poem. I'd forgotten about it. I have to say, it's probably the longest I've written. What struck me though, was that on Wednesday night I was remembering the stargazing I used to do with Dad on summer nights. We could see so many stars, it was amazing. But now there's too much light pollution and haze. Stars are just too hard to see now. I miss it terribly. After reading through the poem I remembered why I miss it so much. There's something elemental that you connect with when you're out there.

A.

Beyond My Vision
6/23/02


Warm summer breezes caress my face
And the sultry scent of honeysuckle fills the air
As I sit in the liquid darkness and gaze at the stars.
Distant pinpoints of light that capture me as I stare.

Each tiny light a beacon to worlds unknown.
So easily we ignore them night after night.
Rarely stopping to appreciate the beauty they represent.
Only minutely aware of their beauty and their light.

But what captures my mind on this summer night,
What captures my very heart and soul in this moment,
Is not just their distant beauty, but what lies beyond.
The purpose of their creation, their function and intent.

Each tiny light encased in the darkness of space;
To my eye, so close in relation, but far distant in reality.
Each the window to a world unknown to our tiny minds.
A testament to our God, our creator’s, infallibility.

Kingdoms within kingdoms, no space left unused.
From the vastness of eternal space and galactic form
To the tiniest of molecules, electrons and chemicals;
The most basic of our science – the same in their fiery form.

Silent witnesses to how little we truly understand,
To how much mankind has yet to try and learn.
Speaking to our hearts that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Crying out for us to long, desire and, yes, even yearn.

Yearn to accept that our human minds are lost.
That we are ignorant of the most important truths.
That this great galaxy in its complete vastness
Was not formed by a freakish accident. – Yearn for proof.

“Seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.”
All the evidences our minds could ever possibly desire
Lay right before our eyes – if only we would look
And see the order and the truth in each form. Seek and never tire.


Never tire of the truth, never tire of the reality
That we are not alone; we are not our own creators.
But joy in the realization that there is an almighty God
Who loves us enough to forgive us, now and in the future.

As one earth passes, a new one takes its place.
Worlds without number, like all the many grains of sand.
All of them standing as witnesses to God’s eternal greatness.
Extending understanding if we would just take His hand.

Take the hand of God and begin the greatest journey.
Accept your inferior knowledge and His great plan of life.
Take the challenge that nature has extended –
To seek and understand God through studying life.

What I wouldn’t give to travel to those stars.
To those vast worlds and kingdom’s unknown.
To see the beauty of life like I’ve never seen before
And to see the evidence that we are far from being alone.

Somewhere in the liquid dark, beyond what I see.
I feel the soul of another, connected by God’s grace.
The soul of one who believes like me and longs to travel too.
To step out of this world and to see the glorious vastness of space.

A journey of discovery – not for greatness or fame,
But to know the every part of the God I love and trust.
To witness for myself the beauty of His handiwork,
To understand the message written there for each of us.

A message of greatness, of love and of dedication.
A witness to the very nature of our eternal Lord.
Oh, to walk among the stars and touch the face of creation
And in turn share it with you in my humble, faltering words.

Oh, for the eyes to see the vastness of the heavens
And then share it with my friends.
A wish not likely to come true, at least on this side of time,
But the wish won’t disappear - the longing won’t end.

So, I’ll stay here and inhale the honeysuckle-drenched air.
I’ll be sure to find the time to lift my eyes upward and gaze.
And dream of worlds unknown and what lies beyond my vision,
Kingdoms within kingdoms, worlds in a far off place