"and this is Pluto...."

i've always enjoyed things pertaining to outer space. i told you guys before that i used to be an aspiring astronomer/planetary scientist/meteorologist back in the day, until the classes started kicking my butt.

but even now, images of other planets, immense, majestic, mysterious bodies suspended in space so far away, blow my mind! if what the scientists say is true, light years away, there are other "families" of planets out there orbiting a central star, much like we orbit the sun in our own galaxy. doesn't that sound amazing?? i can't even fathom the vastness of the universe. heck, most of the time, i can't even fathom the vastness of the Earth itself.

when i really think about how huge this Earth is, and so full of LIFE, though it seems like such a "duh" concept, it fascinates me. take Australia for instance - it is FAR, far away. and there are people there right now- people with stories, with lives, with joys, with tears, babies, puppies, people hating their jobs, loving their children, growing their own vegetables, worshiping God, singing, dancing, eating at a great restaurant. way on the other side of the world, there's LIFE, vibrant life, just like my life, just like your life. that's mind boggling to me - or maybe i'm just easily overwhelmed :-)

anyway, when i even try to wrap my brain around the concept of other planets, stars, galaxies, moons...all of this so big and so far away, i can't fully grasp it. it's kind of like trying to grasp the concept of forever. have you ever really stopped to think about "forever"...and how it never ends? when we go to be with the Lord, we will be with Him forever...infinitely. non-stop. not for 20 years, not for any length of time that we can humanly, mentally conceive. but forever...my brain is not equipped to really understand how permanent and ongoing forever really is. wow.

but back to the outer space topic and my whole point for writing this, because contrary to the randomness, there really is a point:

what do you think will happen to the other planets, galaxies, stars, etc. when this life as we know it is over? after everything is over - after Jesus returns to grab His followers and take us up out of here, after the tribulation, after the defeat of the devil, etc. - and a new earth and new heaven are established (Revelation 21), and we see God and live with Him forever, what will happen to the rest of the universe? what will happen to Neptune and Saturn, and the rest of those guys?

am i the only one who wonders about these things? i know it sounds bizarre, but the universe is way too majestic, beautiful and vast for it to not be there for a reason, right? maybe God just created it all strictly to show us how marvelous, creative, powerful and BIG He really is. but um... will we ever get to see it??

most of us will never have a chance to go to outer space. honestly, even if NASA were giving away free trips to Mars, i don't think Señorita Dragonfly would be signing up. i don't trust anybody on this Earth enough to strap me into a rocket and launch me into a place with no oxygen, no gravity, ridiculous temperatures, and only a glorified beekeeper suit with a helmet to protect me.

but in any case, i'd love to see the rest of this gorgeous universe that my Father's hands molded, that He breathed into creation. He has done such marvelous things, too marvelous to remain way out there for us to never see and give Him the glory He deserves. do you think maybe when we get to Heaven that God will take us on a tour all around the universe? (i'm picturing us all lined up behind the velvet ropes in our white robes, waiting to board the Heaven-Mobile, with an Angel at the wheel, saying "First stop, Mercury.")

i'd trust going with Him, but no one else.

*the images above are Neptune and Saturn, just in case you were wondering - aren't they pretty? :-) *