Hello Moon
We humans are fascinated by the moon, aren’t we? Who doesn’t like to gaze up at the night sky to see the moon shining in a black velvet field of stars? Meteorologists alert us to the occurrence of a full moon, a super moon, a snow moon, a blood moon, a harvest moon or a blue moon. A few years ago, some amateur sky-watchers with very large, expensive, complex telescopes set up shop in a field on the island where we spend a lot of time. My husband and I spent an hour going from one telescope to the next looking at stars, planets and of course, the moon. It was fascinating.
We measure lunar months by this natural satellite in the sky. The moon waxes and wanes as it orbits the earth, showing up as a sliver of a crescent to a large glowing sphere in the sky. Each cycle from new to full and back to new takes about 30 days.
It’s All In A Phrase
Think about how many sayings we use that include the moon.
“That only happens once in a blue moon”.
“I love you to the moon and back”.
“She’s over the moon in love with him”.
“Shoot for the moon”.
“I see the moon, and the moon sees me”.
Who can forget that most famous of quotes literally from the moon — “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. Neil Armstrong uttered that famous sentence as he stepped from the lunar module to the surface of the moon. I remember watching it on television back on July 20, 1969. First proof that the moon was not made of green cheese and there was not, in fact, a man in the moon.
Moon Music
There are dozens of songs in history that include the moon too. Click here to hear some of them.
Moon River – Andy Williams
That’s Amore’ – Dean Martin
Moon Shadow – Cat Stevens
Fly Me To The Moon – Frank Sinatra
Dancing in the Moonlight – Thin Lizzy
Moondance – Van Morrison
Moonlight Serenade – Glen Miller
Shine on Harvest Moon – Jack Norworth and Nora Bayes-Norworth
Moonlight Sonata – Beethoven
The moon has a staring roll in two of my favorite children’s books — Goodnight Moon and Guess How Much I Love You? The latter is my go-to book for baby shower gifts. I still can’t read it without getting a huge lump in my throat.
Do you remember the movie An American Tale? Little Fievel Mousekewitz sings “Somewhere Out There” while he’s sitting beneath a beautiful full moon. I thought about that song a lot the year and a half my daughter lived across the ocean in Scotland. I would remind myself that she could see the same night sky that I saw, though not at the same time.
My Moon Friend
I have a dear friend who loves the moon as much as I do. I don’t remember exactly when we discovered our mutual affinity but our text feed of four plus years contains many, many photos of the moon. She lives on a lake so she’ll send me beautiful pictures of the moon reflecting on the water. I’ve sent her pictures of the moon from my travels including Norway, Michigan, Scotland the mountains of North Carolina and the beach. It is not unusual for one of us to text the other just to say “go look at the moon”! or “did you see the moon last night”? It has really turned into a wonderful pastime and reminder of friendship. I literally cannot look at the moon and not think of my friend.
I think we love the moon because it causes us to look up and beyond the earthly realm. It reminds us that there is so much more “out there” beyond where the eye can see. We both see the moon as a remarkable creation of God. We enjoy looking at the moon but we don’t worship it. Instead, we worship it’s Creator, giving thanks for allowing us to enjoy its beauty.
How about you? Are you a moon-lover? Do you ever stand in awe looking up into the night sky? Next time you see the moon, pause and thank God for the beauty of his creation.
Kim Wilbanks 