Look To The Stars

Aeons ago, just after the beginning, there was a man who couldn't sleep. He suffered from what was at that point the worst case of insomnia this world had ever seen. It had nothing to do with financial or social responsibilities. The world was young enough that man had not yet learned to be afraid and nightmares suffered from lack of source material. Though entirely a possibility, the historical record does not mention a woman.

Night after night he fought with his pillow, turning it this way and that. He tossed and he turned on the ground. Like all of the people, his dwelling protected him from the cool night air. Yet still sleep did not come. Days passed and each morning the flaming sky taunted his bleary eyes. The days became longer and longer until he no longer knew the difference between day and night. The nightly fire became to him the evening sun until the darkness chased them all inside.

He lay alone staring at the ceiling again and again. At times, the man would reach out his hand and feel nothing. It would fall down by his side again, empty.

One night, the man’s fatigue became something more. Within himself, he felt desperation when he reached out his hand and then a solemnity settled upon him that could only be described as final. He got up from his dwelling place and walked outside into the darkness. The embers in the circular fire pit still glowed softly around the edges; their warmth and light imprisoned in their ashen shell. The wind blew like a strike to the face.

In those days, all men still spoke with God. There were no set apart orders or charismatic leaders. In a time before distraction, God’s constant presence was felt by mankind, gifting them with a personal faith that they have sought to reclaim ever since.

The man bowed down and began to pray, saying, "O My God, why has sleep departed from your servant? My bones ache and my mind races! After seven days even You rested from your labor.”

There was no answer.

“Lord, what would you have me do?” he asked, keeping his face to the ground. “If it be your will, grant your servant understanding.”

Still there was silence.

“Please, Almighty God!” he pleaded, pounding his fists on the ground. “If nothing else, grant your servant a reprieve! I can take no more!”

The man rose to his knees, “Since I was a boy, I have learned to walk in Your ways. All of my days, I’ve done my best to walk the path of righteousness, yet I know that tonight you have something to say to me. I pray please! Say it! For I fear this might be my last night to hear it.”

Exhausted, the man began weeping. “My Lord, I give myself over to you. I have lived in the world of light and darkness for too long! I see you each day in my brothers and sisters, yet at night it seems that You depart from me. I beg that You let me hear what You speak to me. Quiet my mind! Open my eyes and ears! Let me know that you hear me!”

He rubbed his watery eyes and looked up. With the fire dead where it lay, he saw, for the very first time, the night sky unobstructed. He gasped in wonder at the countless stars above, sprinkled densely across the wide open sky. In the uninhibited darkness, their light shone even brighter.