Don't forget...

My dad is always a good source of unique trivia, weird quotes and advice with which I'm not quite sure what to do. Don't get me wrong, he has passed on lots of "fatherly wisdom" to me that is invaluable - however, he also has a unique way of phrasing things and leaving me scratching my head wondering what he meant by what he just said.

For example, since the time I was in middle school, my dad would get this goofy grin on his face as he left me with one phrase before leaving for work everyday - "Don't forget..."

My answer was always "Don't forget what?"

He would reply - as the grin grew bigger - "Just don't forget..."

Huh?!?

For years this phrase has left me scratching my head. I've pondered and mused and engaged in deep thought over what I should not forget. I'm constantly wondering what I'm forgetting. I'm obsessing and losing sleep at night over what I could have possibly forgotten - and I already don't have the best short term memory!

Ok maybe its not that bad - I'm not losing sleep, nor obsessing - but it has left me with something to ponder.

Now, as an adult, I am still a little apprehensive when my dad approaches me with the same goofy grin and says "Come here for a minute. I need to show you something!"

This was the case earlier this week. It was about 10pm as I followed my dad outside to see what he "needed to show me!" As I walked out and waited as my eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness, my dad told me to come over and look through the spotting scope that he uses for target shooting. When my eyes finally adjusted, I could see my dad had the spotting scope pointed toward the sky.

As I knelt down and looked through the scope, I saw 5 glowing blobs in the night sky. One was noticeably bigger than the other four.The larger blob has rings wrapping around it and appeared to be giving off a purple glow or haze around the edges. The four smaller blobs sort of look like stars, but there was a noticeable difference - they weren't twinkling like stars.

My dad then informed me that it was Jupiter and its moons that I was viewing. Apparently Jupiter is the closest to the Earth that its been since 1963, and here I was - looking at the largest planet in our solar system! 

I looked through the scope, studying and pondering and wondering. I'm not even sure how to explain how I felt at that point. Awestruck. Amazed. In wonder. Incredible.

See in that moment, as I looked at Jupiter, I had a feeling of how big God really is, and how small and insignificant I am. As humans, our lives are but a blip on the radar of time - a small speck of light in the vast expanse of the universe.

And yet God - the creator of the heavens, of earth and all creation - loves us enough to desire us each individually. God has the whole universe, yet He calls us each His child. He is responsible for EVERYTHING in existence, yet his heart yearns for a relationship with each of us individually! In Mathew 10:30, we are told that "the very hairs on your head are all numbered."

Amazing!

The God of all creation loves us enough to know something as seemingly minuscule as how many hairs are on our heads. There is only one thing that can motivate that type of knowledge - God's unfailing love for us!


As I stood with my dad looking up at the night sky, it was as if my Heavenly Father was looking at me saying "Adam, don't forget..."