Jesus in the Garden

An opossum stirring in the garden woke me up last night. It was a gift to see the moon shining brightly through the old apple tree. Having watched the movie Jesus of Nazareth, I thought about him as I looked at the moon. This was the same moon he saw in the garden as his disciples were sleeping. The Son of Man was all alone. He prayed, "Father if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will but thine be done." (Luke 22:42). It turned out at that crucial moment an angel came to help him, strengthening Him.

Moonlight flooded my bed and I soaked it up. I thanked the Father for his gift of the Christ. I thought about James Dillet Freeman's poem, I Am There. It's on the moon. Looking at the moon is comforting. God is always with us, we are never alone. He has given his angels charge over us.

Many blessings,

Karen

Crescent Moon

(Photo from flickr.com)

The moon and I have been playing a game. It started several nights ago when snow still covered the ground from the winter storm. The vertical blinds were drawn shut in the bedroom. I was awakened in the middle of the night by a bright light shining through an open slat. Excited to see moonlight, I opened the blinds. Over the frosted apple tree, the crescent moon hung like a yellow cat's eye. I lay there enjoying the beauty of her pinkish halo. Below her on the left a bright star sparkled red. Mars and the moon together were a rare sight. Slowly, she traversed the sky heading west on her journey.

Anxiously, I awaited her return the next night, waking often, but there was no sign of her luminance. It was almost 4:30 before she paid me a visit, shining her light on my pillow. I thought about that old moon--how everyone I ever knew or read about throughout history had gazed up at her in loving adoration. The moon has no light of her own. She gets her glow from the sun, reflecting it like a mirror. She seemed to send long moon beams into my eyes as I blinked, watching. Her healing beauty stirred my soul and soon I dozed back to sleep in a restful peace, thankful for her gift of light.

Angelic blessings,

Karen