I am feeling very, very small! I have been reading about the recent pictures scientists have captured on film of our cosmic neighbor, our galaxy’s Black Hole. The solar eclipse of a couple of years ago left me with a feeling of breathtaking awe and a fresh sense of wonder before the magnitude of creation. I felt small then. But at least I could see with my own eyes, the sun and the moon up there doing their thing together. But now the newspapers have shown us something Albert Einstein told us was there, but until now we had never seen. I feel like holding onto my seat when I read the consensus description.
For starters, this Black Hole is 6.5 times as big as the sun. It is 5.5 million light years away. The photograph was taken by a network of telescopes linked around the world that functioned as a single global-sized camera. One attempt at expressing the power of that global telescope camera
network was to say that with its power from New York you could see the date on a quarter in L.A. Wow! That is big stuff.
I feel small. But more importantly, that picture in the paper reminds me that I am a significant part of one unified creation filled with God’s presence. The God who is present to the vast expanses of the universe is also present in the very depths of my soul – one Life in all life. My faith reminds me that I am not small at all.
Weaving Prayer Into the Tapestry of Life
Martha Rowlett
Martha Rowlett is a minister in the United Methodist Church, a prolific blogger, and author of four books on prayer. Her book, Weaving Prayer Into the Tapestry of Life, provides an overview of the understanding and practice of prayer, offering an invitation to the reader to move from thinking to doing.
Read Martha’s writings from her blog at WeavingPrayerIntoTheTapestryOfLife.Com
Former senior pastor at Rolling Hills, Martha has served in local churches and on Conference staff in the United Methodist Church. Originally from Virginia, she has lived most of her adult life in California and Washington and currently enjoys mountain living in Asheville, North Carolina.
