I observed something interesting today. I was greeted promptly at 7:00 this morning by the one who normally struggles to get out of bed at the sound of the alarm. Jake came downstairs with puffy eyes. But those eyes had a spark in them.

He excitedly told me that he got up at 3:30 last night, pulled his telescope out to the backyard, and viewed the Orion Nebula, and it was so cool. He went on to share his other observations, such as the moon occlusion something or other on Jupiter.  One of Jupiter’s moons was casting a shadow on the planet, and he caught it at the perfect time.

One not-so-minor detail about this middle of the night activity: Jake pulled Derek out of bed to go skywatching with him. According to Derek, Jake had an “endless list of things he wanted to see”, and Jake intended to plow through that list together. Brother-friends on a skywatching excursion. Their deadline of course would be sunrise, as all the night lights are drowned out by the light of the sun.

Well, as Jake was explaining to me all the wonders that he saw in the night sky, the boys’ alarm was blaring in the background. It continued blaring for 12 minutes. When it finally stopped, Derek stumbled downstairs with eyes half open and shoulders slumped in exhaustion. His eyes were puffy like Jake’s but they were missing the spark. The night sky hadn’t energized him like it had his brother. Had the middle of the night activity included college football, the tables would have certainly been turned.

So this made me think: for Jake, skywatching was worth sacrificing the comfort of sleep. I might venture to add that he would probably even be willing to skip a meal or two if he had to, just for a glimpse into the night sky. It’s good to have something that trumps all other things in importance. Something you’re willing to sacrifice comfort/popularity/material things for. While stars are a great thing to observe and understand, what’s even greater is the One to whom they point. The One who created them.

And one more point–no matter what a person’s interests are (stars, college football, computers, cooking), the fact is that all things are created through Jesus Christ and for Him. All things hold together in Him.