Aliens

planet.redmummy.com

Okay, I know you probably think I have lost my mind, but stick with me for just a minute.

Last night on the way home from school the kids and I got into a conversation about the moon, sun, stars, planets, and yes, aliens. The kids were asking me what the moon was made of and if you could touch it. Then they asked me what the sun was made of and if we could touch it. Our conversation continued to what the earth and other planets were made of, and of course why.

Toward the end of the conversation Ben asked me if I believed in aliens. I told him I did not believe they were real, but that some people did. I told him that I thought movies and books about aliens were fun to watch and read, but that I thought they were make-believe.

Then I went to cook dinner. As I cooked dinner I thought about the conversation in the car. It made me wonder why God would create a universe with eight or nine planets, depending on your position on Pluto, and not put life on all of them. Why just Earth?

Then it occured to me that maybe He created the other planets for the sense of wonder that they create in us. I mean think about all the books, movies, and songs that have been written about the contents of our universe. I have never met a kid who wasn't fascinated with space for a least a little while. Then I thought about how it feels to see the sense of wonder in my own children. It must give Him such pleasure when He sees that in us.

Or maybe He created them to provide us with the opportunity to think about something bigger than ourselves. There is nothing that makes you feel smaller than looking up into the very dark night sky full of stars and planets.

Just food for thought. What do you think?