constellations

recently, while listening to jack johnson and contemplating, i realized how small my world has become. and being so close to the city, you can't see the stars or moon very easily. how sad this is! perhaps we'll find time over the summer to go stargazing, friends.
so why this sudden interest in astronomy? it is relevent, i promise. one thing that Paul Tripp keeps emphasizing (and when i say "emphasize," i mean repeat until i'm sick of it) in Methods is that when we humans have problems, our world shrinks to the size of the problem(s). sure, this doesn't sound too revolutionary...until you chew on it for a little bit. digest it. what did you feel like the last time you suffered some kind of crisis, be it major or minor? did it consume you, even for a little bit, or did you find yourself able to let the whole thing go and trust the Lord to take care of it? i find that the situations i have less control over i actually have an *easier* time giving over to the Lord, whereas if i feel i have a hand in the situation then i try to keep it to myself. i suppose it's an independence thing, a power thing, and definitely a pride thing.
what's more, i feel like recently my classes have all been stressing community and the continuity in the redemptive-historical story of the Bible and how our lives connect in with it. i think this is sticking with me because recently (in case you haven't noticed) i've kind of dropped off the face of the planet. my work schedule seriously increased--between my job and babysitting, i'm now putting in around 25 hours a week, plus my 12 credit hours at WTS. i have a brief respite next week with no babysitting (huzzah!) but it's one of those things that you don't realize how important it is until it's gone. i feel pretty disconnected from the rest of the world, and from my community here. i miss seeing my friends. i miss seeing Christ work in and through my friends. my world has seriously shrunk to the size of my life and my problems. and when i step back and see myself for the person i am, i see that my life is very small, and certainly not worth the attention i give it. my present existence is very "me"-centred, and to be honest, this makes me rather uncomfortable.
and so i am greatly anticipating the spring, what with it bringing new life and renewal and sunlight and warmer evenings where there is the possibility of stargazing. one never feels so peacefully insignificant as when studying the Heavens.