I've been a bit grumpy today. Somehow I just could not sleep last night with the possibility of seeing the moon eclipse. Unfortunately, each time I jumped out of bed to check, it was too cloudy to make a Houston sighting. But it was worth the effort, regardless of my sleepiness and out-of-sortedness today. Delightedly, I observed a brilliant moon over our neighborhood at 6:00 AM, a time I usually do not go moon watching.
And... it set me thinking moon thoughts again. So I will re-post some of those thoughts from my blog entry dated September 25, 2008.
"God Bless the Moon!"
"I see the moon and the moon sees me. God bless the moon and God bless me."
My children and I used to say that little rhyme together when they were babies. I can't help but remember it when I stop and look at the moon, like I did the other night when I took this photo.
Initially I was captivated by the startling beauty, a contrast to the hurricane torn days of the prior week. Then a myriad of random thoughts raced through my mind.
It seemed as if the moon was cutting a hole through the darkness, like Jesus breaks up the darkness of sin with His light.
My name bearing the meaning of the word moon, I thought of a former post I wrote, "One Who Reflects Light." Additionally, there was the post "Let Your Light Shine" Children's Craft which darted through my mind.
I began to hum the melody to "Blue Moon" as I looked and pondered.
After a bit, the song "Somewhere Out There" came to my lips. Our family loved the American Tail movies, and we always said the adorable mouse, Fievel, was so much like out little Joshie. When Josh left on his first mission trip to Thailand at the young age of fourteen, his sister and I missed him so much, and as we had no prior international experience to relate to, we worried. At night we would go outside, look up at the moon and sing the lyrics to "Somewhere Out There," singing like Fievel, squeaking out the high parts, "Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight, someone's thinking of me, and loving me tonight." And it helped us, knowing that the same moon shining over our heads would be shining over our Joshie's head so far away.
I have repeated that scenario again and again through the years. My daughter spent months in India, in Taiwan, and in China, and sometimes communication was minimal. And so nighttime found me marching outside to seek the moon, "God sees the moon, and the moon sees me. God bless the moon, and God bless...our Baby Joy!" God always spoke to my spirit, and calmed my motherly nerves.
While in India myself, and away from my family, I loved seeking out the moon, and singing the Fievel song. Numerous and varied have been the experiences in my life which have caused me to seek out this luminary, created by God on Day 4 of Creation, to give light in the darkness. It is a constant in my world, at times a focal point, and periodically a thing God uses to bring light into times of my own personal darkness.
Isn't it interesting how many thoughts one can have in such a short time? My "moonlight meditations" probably only lasted a few moments, but the memories spanned many years. Moon memories. They bring a smile to my heart. "God bless the moon!"
