This past weekend I saw a friend I had not seen in years. It did me good to see her because it reminded me of a happy time in my life, a time when I examined all the possibilities my life could take.

We used to go out on her back porch on clear evenings and lay in lounge chairs, looking at the stars, and talking about where life was leading us. She taught me about constellations, the movement of the universe, how small we could feel in comparison, how much was out there to choose from.

She taught me to listen, with my vision, to listen to the stars.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? – Psalm 8:3-4 ESV

We shared our problems with each other, our worries, our fears, our doubts; we shared our dreams, all while looking up at the heavens.

We laughed. We cried. We planned and schemed. And we hoped.

Looking back now, I realize I stopped dreaming, stopped hoping, stopped seeing the possibilities; I stopped looking at the stars.

That changes now.