Reflecting Light

I love the moon and have for most of my life. This week as I drove to work I looked up to the moon, in its full state and admired it's beautiful bright white glow. Even though it is 384,400 km away from the Earth it shines down in the night casting a beautiful light across our planet.  I wondered why I love the moon so much and not the sun. After all the sun gives us warmth, it gives us light and is a requirement for all of creation. One would think that the sun should be more worshiped than the moon. On the other hand as much as the sun gives us life it can also bring us great harm, whereas the moon, powerful enough to control our tidal waters, doesn't do harm to us as people.

I realized that the reason I love the moon is because it doesn't shine its own light but reflects the light of another. It is how I want to live my life and what I feel we are called to do. We aren't here to stand alone and be boastful in our deeds but to reflect the light of our creator and share that light with others. It's what we do at my church,  every project we do, we do together, reflecting the light and gifts of each other and share it with others in our community and world. Without the sun the moon wouldn't have any light to reflect down on us in the night.  Without the support of each person, we wouldn't be able to do all that we do. We need each other. The light and love that surrounds us, gives us the hope and strength to work together to make this world a better place for all people. It all takes time and hard work but step by step, as a team, we make a difference in many people's lives. 

When I think of all the good work that non profit organizations do in our community it is just mind boggling. There are so many people who volunteer their time to help others through food banks, thrift stores, health programs and social groups that raise funds to support local projects. Every time we take part and offer our time and gifts we are reflecting the light onto others.

The other evening my daughter and granddaughter and I went to sit at the beach and watch the moon rise. As it rose it was a beautiful orange colour and was just gorgeous as it reflected light across the waters. My granddaughter who is two was so excited to see it come up over the mountain.  That night she had a sleep over and when she woke in the morning she looked out of my window and saw the moon. She was so very happy and kept saying "moon, moon, white, white"  She noticed that the moon when up high in the sky was white whereas when we had seen it earlier it was orange in colour. It's so wonderful to share some of the simpler things in life with younger folk and share in their excitement. 

So when you are out at night or just feel surrounded by darkness, look up at that beautiful white moon and remember the light and love of creation and  all that we do when we reflect that love and light onto others. Reflecting the light and love of others is what will make our world as beautiful as the light of the moon shining across the deep waters of our planet, bringing light to our dark times.