Looking For The Moon At Our Christian School

I have memories of one my children noticing the moon, sometimes while camping or on a walk, but also during broad daylight. A simple cry of delight of “moon!” would be heard when I was transitioning them from the stroller to the car seat, trying to get them to brush their teeth when a window was nearby, or hastily going about some other all-consuming task. Until I acknowledged the moon, the word would be repeated over and over. If I had given pause to look, I also would have easily noticed it and stopped to appreciate its grandeur. 

The white reflection of the sun’s rays bouncing off the moon for us to see, day or night, is a thing of beauty. It takes just over a second for the light bouncing off the moon to reach us here on earth. By contrast, it takes 5.5 hours for light to come from the sun. Light travels fast, but if our heads are not raised up to look, we will not notice.

Has COVID caused us to walk though life with our heads down a little more, limiting our ability to notice? Are we more prone to complain or lament, than to cry out with joy? I’ve had the blessings of hearing in our classrooms that students are invited every day to linger at the gift of a child born for us, who is the light of the world. May we join with the awe of the Bethlehem shepherds who first heard confirmation via a nighttime display they could not miss.

SJ