Many Skies...

The two wonderful birds that doth givith their lives!

     Wow! soooo much to think about, so much to talk about! I was hoping to have another post up before I left orientation, and did...... but accidentally deleted it. AHHH! Technology givith and taketh away. In it I was pondering the value of food, its importance, how I have viewed it, and how my views have changed. specifically after cutting the head of a chicken off and then participating in the rest of the preparation process. Food is truly a gift! But I think I will save that subject for later on this year when I'm over being bitter about the last post.

                                                                      

(All pictures taken in Madagascar ex where noted)

     For now what I have been contemplating is the sky. For all of the changes in coming to Madagascar, the new people, places, environments. The anxieties of speaking (in Malagasy) in front of ten thousand people. The joys of successfully navigating a bus route and making a store purchase. The comfort of settling in with my host family, and finding companionship. And the loneliness of being so far away from what I have called home for years.( More stories to come I promise!) I cant help but notice the sky is still the same sky no matter where I have been. Whether on top of a mountain in Colorado, on the great plains, or on the porch here in Madagascar, the sky, however unique, is still the same celestial sphere! And what a truly remarkable sky Madagascar presents! I have always been blown away by the beauty of the heavens, no matter where I have been, and here has been no different. God surely puts a personal touch into the setting sun each night, and I am humbled by its elegance.

     Sounds all very romantic and poetic right? So in true form I wrote a poem about the sky! ( adapted into a song but no recording materials are present.) Yup, here goes....

Looking up at the sky tonight, I gaze in wonder at a million simple lights.
And I feel at home, no I'm not alone when you look up in the night and see the same dancing light.
And I have to stop, Ten Thousand miles away and know that in the moon there is nothing more to say.
So I feel alright in the middle of the night, because I trust that in the beauty of the star were not that far apart.

And when I see the beauty in a sunset,
my heart just will not let me forget the gift of all creation, and how it's shared in every nation.
For you and for me from the mountain to the sea,
 it's for him and for her who they are who they were,


Oh the sky is just the same no matter of your name, where you go let it                                                          show that there's so much room to grow.

Looking out upon the sky today, I stare and ponder and it takes my breath away.
Because the clouds are making shapes that only God could create.
I've seen them in the Rocky Mountains, I've seen them on the coast the waves were shouting!
I saw them when I was young and I think I've just begun to see...

That there's a slender thread we all seek,
it's the peace that passes all we understand.
When I look to the heavens I see that peace made complete, I see it in the sun the moon n' sky as it spreads across the land.

I wonder if we could let our doubt drift away like a rolling cloud in an effortless day
I believe that we will see all our hopes set free and fly when we give them to the spirit in the sky.

Taking in the sky again, my souls at ease, I'm not worried about the whens,
yes ill take it all in stride, jump in and take a ride,
because I know that in the splendor of the sky there is peace that I will rely.

"Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work."

-Abdul Kalam

Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, Where I really Latched onto this ideia