Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and I am a hopelessly incurable romantic.
Tomorrow night there’ll be a full moon out. And it’ll remind me of when I was a little girl, oh, how I used to love sitting in the backyard with my mother on an evening when the moon was big, bright, and beautiful. I’d lean against her shoulder and look up into the big yellow moon as we’d sing, "When it's moonlight over the River Colorado, how I wish that I were there with you." We’d be out there, harmonizing on every moon song we knew – “Shine on Harvest Moon,” “Blue Moon,” and “By the Light of the Silv’ry Moon,” just to name a few moon tunes.
I look back on those long-ago evenings as a big blessing. They were moments that drew me close to God (as well as to my mother) – yet what’s funny is, my mother and I mostly sang love songs about the moon and the stars. We didn’t necessarily sing about God in hymns or spiritual songs, although there were a few thrown in. So how is it something like that – like singing to the moon --could draw me close to the Lord? Well, we’re told in the Bible that the heavens declare the glory of God, and it’s true. At no time do the heavens seem more glorious than on a quiet night when crickets are calling, the breeze is soft, and the moon is on the rise.
Now, you may ask, how is it that I can glorify God while swooning over His creation? There is a way to delight in nature that’s not for its own sake, but for God's sake. For instance, to this day, I will gaze up at a moon, full of longing and, yes, even romance, and I will think, Oh Lord Jesus, the emotions of the wonder I feel on this lovely night remind me of how utterly beautiful heaven will be with you -- you created all this for my enjoyment and it is just a hint, just a little preview, a whisper, a little foreshadowing of even more utterly beautiful things to come when I go home to you in heaven! Thank you for this full moon night.
Friend, that's the way you glorify God when you look at his creation. I don't love the moon for the moon's sake -- that would be idolatry. I love the moon because it points me to a greater love and that is the Lord who made the moon. Jesus is the one who came up with the idea of how beautiful a moonlit night should look, right? The night lights in the sky didn't become beautiful on their own; they are supposed to point to their Creator, and they do. And our great God is brimming over with love, beauty, quiet delight, and, yes, even romance (’cause you won't find a greater Lover than the hound of Heaven who is passionate about seeking and saving the lost).
Psalm 148:3 tells us, "Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!" The heavens point to the breathtaking beauty and creative genius of the Lord of the universe. So does the wind in pine trees, and a wheat field stirring in the breeze. I love nature because its loveliness directs my attention to the allure of my God who created every good and perfect gift -- every moonlit night -- for my enjoyment. Even James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights…” Wheat fields in the wind and moon shadows across the backyard are all good and perfect gifts. Yet I don't idolize nature; no, I worship God, and nature declares His glory.
Yes, I'll enjoy the full moon coming up tomorrow night – and as I sit in the backyard and sing a few moon songs, I know I will miss my dear mother who has long since gone to heaven. But the heavens also will declare the glorious assurance of one day being reunited with her at the feet of our precious Savior. Yes, it is the Lord himself who placed within my heart -- and He placed it within the heart of my mother -- a longing, loving and a delighting in him. And it happens every time a full moon is on the rise.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
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