Safety in the Starry Night Sky

As we pulled out of the campsite at Hwange National Park and started down the dusty, bumpy road, I began to daydream about the last couple of days. Michelle and I had sipped tea on the balcony of our “glamping” tent set on the edge of a watering hole, and laughed at a group of warthogs trotting by. “Funny, snorty little things, aren’t they?” I said with a giggle as Michelle gasped “The elephants are coming…oh look, there’s a baby!” You didn’t need binoculars to see the elephants gather to drink and play. There were marvellous beasts and birds everywhere.

Suddenly our Jeep hit a pot hole and I snapped-to with a start. "Up ahead is the Wild Dog Park.” Doug, Michelle’s Uncle and driver of the jeep, said. “Will we see hyenas and wolves?” I wondered aloud. "No,” he replied, “It is a Painted Dog Conservation. Throughout the park there is a long and winding bridge 10 feet above ground. It's a very cool boardwalk."

When we arrived, we stopped to read the plaque before us. “There are approximately 700 Painted Dogs in this conservatory. They mainly prey on small to medium-sized antelope such as kudu, impala, and duiker. Painted dogs eat very quickly so that other animals can’t steal their food - they can finish an impala in less than 10 minutes!”

“Ravenous things.” I thought, as we stepped on the bridge. The handrails were made of thin logs, the boardwalk was rickety and seemed to be raised on stilts. I began to wonder how safe it was.

Lindsay and Michelle took off first, they were eager to see the dogs. I stayed behind with Doug and his daughter, Chloe. We went much slower to accommodate a 5-year old’s need to explore.

Half an hour in to our hike, the sun was getting lower in the sky. Even though we were surrounded by a sparse but expansive forest, we still hadn’t seen one animal.

All of sudden, I heard the little girl scream. I whipped around and Chloe was no longer on the boardwalk with Doug. “She tripped and fell through the top and bottom rails” yelled Doug as he took off like Spiderman, crawling through the rails to lower himself and jump down the rest of the way. Chloe lay on the ground, silent. He scooped her up and stretched her up to me. “We’ve got you Chlo…you’ve fallen and we’re helping you.” I said reassuringly. We managed to raise her on to the floor boards just as Lindsay and Michelle ran back to catch up to us. "We heard you screaming...Oh Lord, Chloe!” Exclaimed Lindsay as she caught sight of her little girl.

Doug was worried about his ascent and scanned the forest for any signs of movement in the trees. He managed to hoist himself up on the stilts and climb up to where Michelle and I could help him the rest of the way. "Thank God that we made it back up before encountering any wild dogs." He praised.

Chloe, upon examination, was in complete shock from the long fall and suffered a gnarly gash under her chin. We trudged back to jeep to patch her up with the First Aid kit Doug kept in the trunk. “There won’t be a doctor available until morning and certainly not in this area.” Doug said. “Let’s get back in the jeep to make the 3-hour journey home. Let’s pray that God will go ahead of us and put His healing to work in Chloe."

I kept my hand on Chloe the whole drive home. We sat in silence and I muttered prayers under my breath without ceasing. I watched the stars out the window and prayed "God, keep us safe on this journey through the wilderness. If you're out there, please show me that you are real. Send your Holy Spirit to heal Chloe.” I repeated the prayer as I sat mesmerized by the stars, for what must have been an hour.

Lindsay moaned in her sleep and I looked at her innocent face. I was struck by my love and care for her in that moment and the juxtaposition of God's great love for each of His children. “Maybe Heaven is closer to Africa, for I feel it’s energy and presence so closely tonight.” I thought when I turned to look out the window.

I double blinked, there was a new star formation in the sky that hadn't been there a minute ago. A huge cross made of stars straight up and down, taking up the whole expanse of the sky. Beside it was the outline of the letter U in stars. The cross and letter U were so clear to me like a finished game of connect the dots. Later when I searched the constellations, the southern cross came up. It was definitely different. Smaller, angled and in a different part of the sky.

With a sense of calm and deep joy, I knew that God was real. This was my personal constellation. A message written in the stars from the Creator of the Universe. He heard our cry and would protect our tiny jeep driving in the middle of the savannah in Zimbabwe. As I marvelled, my custom constellation went on before us until we arrived at Doug’s house.

"Girls, we're home." Doug announced gently. A rush of relief filled the car. "Thank God for His protection on this wild adventure. Let's all head to bed, there's nothing more to be done tonight.”

The next morning, I awoke smiling at the thought of last night’s sky and offered my gratitude, “Thank you, Creator, for the gift of stars and for the bright morning sun shining through my window.” Then I remembered Chloe’s injury. I walked down the hall to find Lindsay and Chloe in bed, cuddling and reading. Chloe's chin had already formed a scab and was healing quicker than we could have imagined.

Over breakfast we all celebrated and gave thanks. In life, adventures are well worth the taking. Yes, they can be dangerous and bad things happen, but no matter what, when we call out with earnest and faith, we are reminded that He loves us, created us and we are never alone.