CHRISTMAS POLLUTION

 I love to contemplate the shepherds on that first Christmas night.  There they were under the stars---we have no idea the phase of the moon---but we know there were stars.  Perhaps there was a fire burning--to keep them warm---or scare away predators---but there was no other light.  They lived in a time of virtually NO light pollution to obscure the glories of the heavens filled with stars.  Nothing hid the light from the legions of stars shining brightly in the night sky.  You should research light pollution and see the serious repercussions for humans, wildlife and the climate.  It has occurred to me, living in the city, how much of the night sky I am missing.  The light pollution is at its greatest in the thickly populated midst of the city.  When Grand #4 and I went to the McDonald Observatory out in the middle of Nowhere Texas, I was amazed by the night sky.  It is rare these days to have such an unobstructed-clear view of the heavens.

There is no question when you look at the long list of detriments caused by light pollution that we have altered our world by over lighting by artificial means.  We have dimmed our view of the heavens and the wonder of it all.

Consider---have we dimmed the wonder of the "Birth of Jesus" by all the manmade trappings of the season?  Have we lost our focus by trying to remember the joy when peering through the pollution of our own making?  Stop and consider---and remember the wonder of that night--without the glaring obstruction of the world.  Look up---and remember.

"There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood.

They had set night watches over their sheep.

Suddenly, God's angel stood among them,

and God's glory blazed around them."

Luke 2:8-9

They were terrified.