A Love Story

On the shores of Island Lake Reservoir, Duluth, MN

Upon discovering the clear night sky filled with thousands of twinkling stars, my friends and I grabbed jackets and blankets and ran down to the lake where we laid on the shore, huddled together to stay warm. There we watched the heavens. I have never seen a more beautiful sight; even now I am breathless remembering the glory and painful beauty of that night.

I was mesmerized. There it was--the Milky Way--shining in all its brilliance before my eyes. Every few minutes we would see a shooting star flung across the sky, and decided that our Daddy in the Heavens was blowing kisses at His daughters, so we blew Him some back. Our voices rose in choruses of praise and delight as we sang to our Lover. We spoke aloud to our Daddy in English, Spanish, and unknown languages, glorifying the Name that is above every other name and loving the beauty that is He. The night was timeless--we were so captivated by the Creative One that we forgot to count the moments. The only tellers of time were our toes, now numb from the cold, and aching bodies begging for relaxation from being so tightly curled up to ward off the chilly night air.

When we could no longer feel our feet we prayed for one final kiss goodnight from Daddy. We asked for it to be a big one--impossible to miss--a light that we would all see, and that would glide across the entire night sky. We waited patiently, knowing that He would not disappoint us, sometimes singing and talking to God, sometimes lying in silent expectation. While we waited He gave each of us individual kisses--shooting stars that only one of us would see at a time. But still we waited, not satisfied because we asked of the Lord and knew we would receive, even as we got colder and colder. Patience was wearing thin.

Finally, out of the very corner of my eye I saw a bright light that I had not noticed before, and I turned to my right to discover what was distracting me from the brilliant sky above. My heart leapt within me and I sat straight up more excited than I have ever been in my life as I saw a radiant, yellow-orange crescent moon rising over the quiet lake. I cried out to the girls beside me that our kiss from heaven had come -- and it had. It met every standard we had prayed for: big and impossible to miss, one we would all see together, and that would go across the entire sky. At this point we were enraptured with our Lover, worshiping Him now with dance and shouts of joy, spinning around on the rocky shore in love with the Creator.

The next morning our hearts were still singing love songs, remembering the way our Lover had romanced us on the dark, starry night before, and we read love notes to keep the fire burning...

"You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride. You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes." (Song of Songs 4:9)