Blue Goldstone

 The One who crafted the galaxies holds me close.

     Goldstone is a man-made stone, technically a glass actually, which was invented in the seventeenth century, or perhaps even earlier. It's origins are shrouded in mystery, but we do know that it's technique of creation was perfected by the Miotti family in 17th century Venice. It is made by melting pure copper spheres into the glass in different colors, to different effects. In the 19th century, goldstone's manufacturing process was made known by Pietro Bigaglia, a maker of filigree glass. Now, goldstone is widely available to buy. The most common color you'll find is orange or gold, filled with shining specks, giving the stone its name; it is also made in blue, dark and deep, with the copper beads looking like tiny stars within a night sky that you can hold in your hand. Blue goldstone is like a window into the constellations, and it's easy to lose yourself in the limitless, stellar depths of space within it.

     Breathtaking as the universe is, it's even more incredible to ponder the One who created it all, down to the molecules - God Himself. We see in Job 38:31-33 that the Lord has personal control over the constellations, and He alone manipulates the stars of the heavens. In these verses He speaks, challenging a follower of His who doubted His might: “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?" Humans like us who are so small that even the mysteries of this world are unknown to us, and even if the things we do know, we have absolutely no reigning power or control over. We cannot, therefore, understand the One who created it all; 1 Timothy 3:16 says, "Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory."

     "And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:14-18

"O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at 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,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Psalms 8

     The majesty of the Creator is beyond measure - and Be, who is greater than we could imagine, has cared for us to the point that He has made us Holy above all the rest of the earth, because He loves us dearly.

     Psalms 42:8 says, "By day the Lord commands His steadfast love, and at night His song is with me; a prayer to the God of my life." The Creator of the galaxies and handcrafted of the stars, great in all His majesty and mystery, watches over us day and night. Truly, with such a shield, with the Lord guarding us, our souls can never be harmed.

"Dear God, I was terribly lost

When the galaxies crossed

And the sun went dark

But dear God, you're the only North Star

I would follow this far

Oh telescope

Keep an eye on my only hope

Lest I blink and get swept off the narrow road

Hercules, you've got nothing to say to me

'Cause you're not the blinding light that I need

For He is the saving grace of the galaxies!"

-Galaxies, Owl City