Star-Gazing In Vegas

       I must say the most unexpected joy of the trip was star-gazing in Vegas. Every night, I would quickly check the sky for stars and be disappointed by the lack of stars. I love to gaze at stars, and here I was in Vegas and not able to see any because of all the city lights.
       On the last night of our trip, I was outside writing in a journal when I paused and looked at the night sky for the last time. There, I saw a few twinkling stars.
       My grandma stepped out of the RV and looked up. She has been teaching herself all sorts of astronomy, and passing her knowledge onto me. She has taught me what zenith meant (the highest point in the sky) and where to find Orion and Polaris and many other stars. We've spent nights in Tahoe, at the beach, and even at home looking up to the sky and pointing at various speckles of sparkles in the dark sky.
       That last night we stood together once more. It was unusual-- I thought-- to see so many stars in Vegas. Maybe they've shown every night and I just never noticed. Perhaps I just assumed they wouldn't shine, so I didn't look hard enough. Nevertheless, there those gorgeous stars were, shining as brilliant as they ever could.
       I think I'm the same way with other things in life: I assume they are one way so I don't even bother to check. There are times when this doesn't even apply to physical or tangible things (like stars). Truth-- the always just-out-of-reach snippet of fact. People take things for truth at the blink of an eye, whether it's their own opinion or what someone else told them.
       It's the same way with sin. Think about this: Satan is referred to as the Angel of Light. Why? My guess is because he disguises himself as a magnificent, light "angel," attracting people to him because they assume "light=good." Yes, light is mostly good, unless it is blinding us from reality. Vegas seems to be an angel of light in a way. The glowing, flashing lights leading people in, then snatching them into a wrong lifestyle.
       Yet even through all the light pollution of the city, I could still see stars. It was as if God was finding a way to be seen through the glare of the glitz and glam of a sinful city. And isn't that true always? He always finds a way to shine through, even in the midst of the distractions of the glaring, blinding, destructive light of sin.