I see the moon, the moon sees me....

I see the moon,

And the moon sees me,

And the moon sees somebody I want to see.

God bless the moon.

And God bless me,

And God bless the somebody I want to see.

~Mother Goose

This poem came before me today. I was reminded of how God uses Creation to bring us comfort, connections, and certainty.

My mom and her father (my prized Grandpa renamed GG when the great grands arrived), were separated by 1000 miles for ~31 years, when she moved from MI to Florida. When Grandma died in 1990, Mom and GG's communication increased and so did her desire to see him more...but the miles still stood between them. They had an agreement...each would watch the moon. When it was full, they would call each other and both talk about the same sight. I'm sure it made them feel closer, connected, and an anticipation of a certain call that month. GG is gone now but that same moon remains, and on cue becomes full each month. My mom and I, not as regularly as the lunar cycle occurs, call each other at the full moon....with sweet memories of GG. I believe Mom still watches the moon today with her sister who is 1000 miles from her.

That same moon, created on the 4th day of Creation as so beautifully described in Genesis, provides the same comfort, connection, and certainty for me and my daughter while we are apart. Chris and I recently left for an anniversary weekend, and our 7 year old couldn't fight the blues; she missed us terribly. The tears were painful on both ends of the line. No words, promises, prayers, or ideas soothed her longing to have a Mommy hug. Nothing helped. As I envisioned those red blotches that cover her cheeks and rise up around her eyes when she is truly upset, I remembered THE MOON, it wasn't full but it was up. We had done this a couple times before when she visited her grands on the farm. This! This was the answer; it was time to call on the moon again. I reminded her to go out and find the moon and let's see what we saw together. Yes, there it was...the same shape for both of us. She took great comfort in knowing we were both sitting beneath the same sight (thank you, Lord, for opening the skies that evening and dusting away any clouds).

In preparation for Costa Rica, I have had to make plans for the two little ones who will remain in the states with the grands. And as home educators, this means I get to pull together their school work for Nana to complete with them. (Mean Mommy, oops...Mean Teacher). Math was simple...fact cards and math sheets. But for language, I needed to put together a lesson that wouldn't be too difficult for Nana. I wasn't sure I wanted to send our regular curriculum but I checked to see if it was simple enough and as I opened that week's lesson...there it was....THE MOON!

I couldn't help but to stop and praise God. I was leaving my sweet child, the one who longs for me when I am away, to a place deep in the rain forest at the top of a mountain and in the depth of a valley with no phone. We can't talk while we look at the same moon BUT God was prepared. I feel certain His hand was far ahead of me, I switched to a new curriculum this year, we've missed a couple of lessons already this month,...and here it was RIGHT ON TIME....several lessons, right out of the book, THE MOON! I couldn't believe my eyes.....at the top of the page was the Mother Goose poem, perfectly penned just for us. (Note that even when God is 4 days late, He's right on time (John 11:1-44). Timeliness is a character of God we see over and over and His word says so: Galatians 4:4, Romans 5:6-8, 2 Corinthians 6:2.

I am grateful for God's provisions and how He has set up this lesson for her to be engrossed in, memorizing her poem, drawing pictures, watching the moon, and feeling connected to each other through the provision of His creation, all while in the absence of her Momma's hugs. She can be certain that her Momma (or in her words, "Moooother") sees the same moon and be comforted that God will bless who sees!!!

Thank you God for your little touches that become big hugs! You answer things I don't even know to ask---before I even know I need them. You are a loving-kind, thoughtful, way ahead of the game kind of God! You KNEW on that 4th day that your people would be connected to You and through Your Creation would feel connected to each other, comforted by Your mighty works, and certain of the hope You bring!

Dear reader, are you watching? Do you see the moon? Are you open to His timing? May you see those small touches He is doing in your life today and thank Him for it and may you feel compelled to share with someone else how He is showing His love toward you.