It’s one thing as we remember our first walks together when we were serious about each other. It is entirely another when we do this today–over 40 years later. God not only made and ordained marriage between a man and a woman, He meant for the relationship to grow. With the right attitude of heart and an anchor in Christ, should a “date” night not improve with time?
Linda was so excited to take a few days away from the seemingly monumental health issues that had been making our schedule, desire to serve others, and just plain life difficult. We had a chance to be with a few friends and observe the heavens for several nights. While it was an exciting time, the event that I remember is the evening we returned home. She wanted in the worst way to have a chance to be on her telescope and look at things with just the two of us. So that is just what we did. As weary as she was, she grabbed a sketch pad and chose an object, the Swan Nebula. While she sketched, we also broadcasted on www.nightskiesnetwork.com, where our friends were still set up about 200 miles away. This is her quick sketch of this late summer object that is close to the Southern horizon. She used a monitor to study the object while her four inch refractor with a color astro video camera did the light gathering work:
People can hear us on the broadcast and there is a chat box for the watchers to ask questions. As Linda’s sketch time closed, about 15 people hung around, so I offered a quick observing lesson, which is what we do overseas when we train teachers and leaders. So, just like the Philippines, I talked about God’s created heavens and their purpose as I began explaining the basics of observing, which (for us) includes putting what you see down on paper. For the next hour, I went through M52 and an area right beside it, explaining the steps that I took to develop an observing sheet, then showing them the development. Some of them, I hope, were doing it themselves. That is the whole idea, because there is something about making notes and sketches that causes us to remember what we have seen. The hope is always that a child will begin to ask the obvious, “How can this be?” I have the answers, because God provided them in Genesis, Isaiah, Proverbs, Job, and a few other books.
It was a good evening to give thanks. M52 is shown below after in inverted a plain white paper/black pencil drawing…
It was good night for both of us, as we enjoyed each other, the heavens, and even had a chance to share some things with others.
