Starlight on the Hill

Stairs Leading Out of Underground Lake

Turkmenistan 2004

Psalms 43:3 NIV
"Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell."

It was a cool summer's night in August. I had just returned from Georgia to Madison County, Kentucky, after I signed a teaching contract with McIntosh County, Georgia. I was still shocked by what I had done and unsure of the consequences of my actions.

We had faced a drought all summer in Kentucky, and lying inside our rented farmhouse, I was too warm to sleep in the stuffy bedroom. I tossed and turned with worries as I considered the days ahead of me.

My marriage was troubled, but I hoped the new job and move to a new state would save it. (I learned later that was not to be the case, but it was all part of God's plan and everything worked out in time.)

I thought about how we would be leaving our families in Ohio, only two hours away from us, but now they would be 800 miles away once we were in Georgia.

I would have to start working at school in Georgia before my husband and son left Kentucky. My husband would have the burden of packing up our belongings and transporting them, our cat, and our three year-old son in a truck to Georgia in September once I had located a place for us to stay. 

I didn't know anyone in Georgia. I would be living with a member of the school board. My principal would have to pick me up from the airport. All these issues made me feel dependent on others at a time in life when I should be independent.

As the night progressed, my worries increased, and sleep eluded me. I rose from bed, left the house, and walked out onto the hill beside a mammoth tree in our front yard and lay down where I was able to see the night sky.  Here, the coolness of the summer's night was a welcome relief to the stuffiness of the house.

I looked up at the thousands of stars and picked out the ones I knew. Old friends like Orion, the Dippers,  and Cassiopeia jumped out at me. I welcomed their company and didn't feel so alone.

I began to talk to God about my fears and concerns. All the worries I had confided to the ceiling in the bedroom I shared with the night sky.  The breeze wrapped itself around me. I could hear sounds of nature around me.  God was with me. He didn't speak in words, but His presence filled me. 

I began to cry as I thought about all the challenges before me. I knew this was a pivotal step in my family's life. It was our last chance to stay together.

I'm glad I can't see the future written before me. If God had somehow revealed to me all that was going to happen once I moved to Georgia, I don't know if I would have had the strength to get off the hill to do what had to be done.

However, after the prayers and tears and the talk with God on the hillside, I was at peace with my decision, and I was ready to leave for Georgia. He gave me His starlight on the hill, which led me to the truth I needed to put me on my new path in life.
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Thank you, Lord, for your light, which leads our way.