Good morning…
As I walked our dogs before bedtime last night, I marveled at the full moon.
Then I went to sleep and I woke again, stepping outside at 12:55 am, expecting to see the highly touted “blood moon.” Instead of the gorgeous reddish hue predicted, as the Earth eclipsed the moon, my eyes were greeted with the ordinary. The uneventful. The lackluster.
When did the mystery of a big bright full moon lose its incredible awe? When it was marred by my expectations, my comparison, my judgement.
Nighttime beauty abounded, but I expected more. Spectacular. One of a kind. Breathtaking.
Then came my friend’s texts.
“Too cloudy for the blood moon” (with sad emojis).
“Well… now i see the moon but its not orange😡😡😡”
I was not the only one up in the early morning hours, battling high expectations, comparison and judgement.
Fifteen minutes later, I stepped outside and there it was, an orange halo glow emmenating through the clouds. The moon was slowly becoming a sliver, eclipsed by the Earth. I went to bed again and woke at 4:00 am to see the moon full again with light.
What did I learn from the moon last night?
Our expectations, our comparisons, our judgements can ruin the beauty surrounding us.
Might we grow in gracious acceptance of whatever God allows, embodying the wisdom of Julian of Norwich? “Because it is, it is good.”
Receiving a gift is like getting a rare gemstone; any way you look at it, you see beauty refracted (Proverbs 17:8, MSG).
…Sue…
