Did you see the moon Monday night????

This is the picture I captured with my iPhone.

It was a rare occurrence.  The last moon like this graced the sky when I was four years old.  The June solstice (first day of summer and longest day of the year) met with a full moon to give us what is known as a “strawberry moon”,  Native Americans gave it this name as it marked the beginning of the strawberry harvest.

Earth won’t see it again for another 46 years.  Strange to think that, most likely, this will not happen again in my lifetime.  (Unless, of course, I live to be 99! 🙂 )

As I stood gazing at this phenomenon, I imagined God gathered with the angels of heaven.  Giddy with the anticipation of grabbing our attention, of directing our eyes upward to something amazing.

“Watch this!” our Creator said as a chorus of  “Goodie, goodie, goodie!” and applause broke out.

And we all looked up.

Creation surprised us again with its glory.

The entire world celebrated the beauty of this rare moon.

God gave every single person on the planet another reason to recognize the handiwork that displayed His creativity, His love for beauty and light.  His power, omniscience and sovereignty.

A reason to look up.

In a time when our world is so uncertain and we find ourselves afraid and unsure of the future, God reminded us with a brilliant light in the sky that He is aware.  That He is with us.  That the Creator who placed that beautiful orb in the sky is very much alive and well and capable of holding this world and every individual on it in those miracle working hands of His.

He got our attention.

We looked up.

But did we look past the moon to see the One who put it there?

There is only one thing that makes those angels sing and whoop and clap louder than when God grabs our attention with His wonders.

It’s when we allow Him to grab our hearts.

When we look up and see more than just a moon.

When we see the face of God and respond to His invitation for a relationship with Him.

“Watch this!” God says when a soul turns to Him.

And heaven goes bananas.

It’s Thursday now, and most of us have gone about our days and not given that picture-perfect moon another thought.  The beauty only captured us for a moment.  The fact that it was such a rare occasion only held our attention for a number of hours.

But the Creator of that moon still does the magnificent.  Every day.  Giving us glimpses of heaven, of Himself, in the events of our days, the people we meet, the circumstances we face.  He is still finding ways to direct our eyes upward to see so much more than a moon.

Continual invitations to know Him.  And to know Him more.

Will we look up?

Psalm 8:3-4 – When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.