His Moonrise Kingdom

 

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee,

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not

as Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness, great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided -

great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

join with all nature in manifold witness

to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

In the last year, I've become much more aware of the moon; and, more specifically, the moonrise.

Last year, John and I were sitting outside looking over the Atlantic around 10:30 at night...there was a slight wind blowing on what seemed to be a rather cloudless night. As I gazed out at the horizon (which is difficult to make out in the dark!), I saw an indistinct light appear in the distance. At first I thought maybe it was a distant ship...I'd never seen anything like it! And it was growing larger, shining brighter...and I realized it wasn't a ship, but the full moon rising, slowly ascending, until I could see the full globe, brightly reflecting the sun's light. The moon was big...I'd never before seen it like I did that night! And since that night, whenener we are returning to that spot, I will check the moonrise schedule to see if I might, once again, spot the beauty of a moonrise on a clear night.

But the moonrise that night has also awakened me to the daily life of the moon...and the fact that, as most days go by, I pay little attention to when the moonrise occurs. The moon rises every day at differing times and in various phases; sometimes the full moon will rise in the middle of the day, and we don't notice and, perhaps, couldn't even see it if it's cloudy or the sky is a very clear, pale blue. If the new moon rises at 10pm on a clear night, we won't see it all. Yet, the moon faithfully rises and sets, whether we're looking for it or not!

And all this 'discovery' of the moon has caused me to reflect on the faithfulness of God. I am keenly aware of His faithfulness when I wake in the morning and find that soon the sun rises, whether the sky is overcast or crystal clear. The rising of the sun is evident every single day...a testimony to His great faithfulness! But still, the moonrise occurs, too. Today, at 11:14 am, the nearly half moon will rise in partly cloudy skies, and I probably won't be looking for it. But it will happen, nonetheless. God is His goodness and faithfulness, is ever present, ever working to accomplish His good purpose and display His great glory whether we're looking or not...and He doesn't forget to have the moon rise!