Dear Reader:

Did you know that the first man-made maps ( ever created) dealt with the heavens…the stars, moon, and sun?

Guess what? I learned about it from the twelfth (sadly next to the last -to date) Louise Penny  detective novel in the series. (A Great Reckoning) The mystery in this book deals with an old WWI map. While studying it Commander Armand Gamache asks a fellow professor what he thinks the map is about….

Almost in awe…the professor replies “Maps are magic.”  He then continues with the origin of the name and creation of these instruments of knowledge and direction that most of us dismiss today… replacing them with GPS and other computerized devices.

Professor Charpentier recounts: ” Maps have become so mundane we’ve forgotten how magical they really are. They transport us from one place to another. They illuminate our universe. The first maps were of the heavens, you know. What the ancients could see. Where their gods lived. All cultures mapped the stars. But then they lowered their sights. To the world around them.”

…”All maps are drawn as though looking down. From a bird’s point of view. From their gods’ point of view. Imagine being  the first person to think of that. To be able to wrap their minds around a perspective they’d never seen. And then draw it. Incredible. It became, not only a source for survival, but also a strategic military advantage in war if your side knew the terrain and surroundings better than your enemy.”

“Map comes from mappa mundi. Mappa is latin for napkin and mundi means the world. A napkin with their world on it. The mundane and the magnificence..Map.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The title picture is of the famous “Nebra Sky Disc.”  It is the oldest map of the universe-the heavens, sun, moon, and stars….dating back to 1600 BC. Wow!

What is the Nebra Sky Disc?

So what exactly is the Nebra Sky Disc and what was it used for? Many researchers believe  it is the oldest known realistic representation of the cosmos yet found, perhaps a kind of astronomical calculational tool to determine planting and harvest times.  It was used as an advanced astronomical clock. For thousands of years all across northern Europe monuments were aligned to mark the summer and winter solstices, Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, and Newgrane in Ireland, being good examples.

As a history teacher I remember teaching my students the four components of history: Place, Time, People, and Stories. Man’s story on earth always starts with place…long before we arrived on the scene. Then over time (millions of years) man appeared and adapted to the environment in which he was born, his dot on the map, and today we know about these ancient cultures through man’s ability to remember and pass down oral stories…  only later writing stories down. Maps, like the compass,  changed the way explorers discovered new worlds and re-wrote old maps.

For me, the importance of having God in my life is that I know He has the map and He knows the universe from star to star… from molecule to molecule. God is my “Map Master”… whom I trust to lead me through my own personal journey of life…and eventually lead back to the heavenly light from which I came.

Mollie texted me yesterday morning with some sad news that a friend (from a mother support group) of hers  just discovered that a lung tumor, recently removed, had come back showing a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. She and her husband have a four-year-old and an eighteen month old.

The support group is setting up a prayer time every morning to lift her in prayer…Mollie asked me if I had a special prayer I have used through my cancer journey and I quickly responded that I did and this is it:

So until tomorrow:

Dear God, Hold my hand and guide me

through this unknown journey in my life.

You are my Physician and Healer. Into Your

Care I place my Trust.  

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Mandy’s students just finished their BIG LOWCOUNTRY CHRISTMAS CARD entry for the James Island Christmas Festival of Lights. Go Buist! Great job students!

A

Brotherly love on a Monday morning before school…now that is a miracle! Way to start the week Eva Cate and Jakie!