"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
"What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
"O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"
American astronaut Buzz Aldrin who walked on the Moon on the first lunar landing (he was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 11) said on a television broadcast on July 23, 1969 that a verse from psalms came to his mind.”When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon & the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man,thou art mindful of him?..” It is said that he has written out this portion of Psalms 8 & left it on the moon.
These verses remind me of the beauty of God's creation. Be it witnessing the morning light as dawn breaks over a clear white sand beach in Bintan, or the glorious clear blue fall sky (that we can only see in the northern atmosphere) along the shores of the great Michigan Lake of Chicago, or the crisp chilly air as I ran along the river banks in Maastricht, Holland in the mid of winter - I am often intrigued and invigorated by the sights of nature juxtaposed with urban life.
Even in Singapore, I truly enjoy the view of Bedok Reservoir from the "hill" vantage point, the unusual delicate pink clouds at dusk over Simei, the sight of a monkey perched on a tree branch over a canal along Guards camp, sunrise along East Coast Park, and the serenity of a bygone era captured in the time capsule in a remote corner of Changi village. At those moments, I feel a oneness with nature and more importantly, a closeness to our God and Creator.
Verse 4 is particularly pertinent for today. I am reminded of how much God loves us. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. What is man that you are mindful of him? I am humbled by that thought.
As an aside, if we ponder that Jesus spent 6 agonizing hours on the cross before he died, what is 6 hours in a marathon? I'll remember that the next time I run 42 clicks.
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