Lasso the Moon

 

     My cell phone beeps. There’s a text message from my twenty-something son.

“Look at the moon.”

     I hurry outside in my slippers and stand on my front porch, mesmerized. It’s

the kind of moon one sees in children’s picture books. Any second, “the cow will

jump over the moon.”

     On this clear, winter night, the moon appears closer to the earth just as my

son’s phone text shrank the miles between us. Is my grown

daughter, living on the opposite coast, enchanted by the moon tonight?

     I once thought loving my children meant giving them the moon. 

    When they were young, the moon was within my reach. A trip to the zoo brightened a cloudy day. A Happy Meal was like winning the lottery for a five year old.

     It was easy to lasso the moon.

     Now two of my children are adults and giving them the moon is like finding the end of a rainbow. Their trips to paradise are on the horizon beckoning them like a mythological siren. Their toys might as well be the Golden Fleece.  It’s no longer within my power to make their dreams come true.

     And I wonder. Would they be happier if I had shown them how to enjoy Earth rather than shoot for the moon?

     We didn’t live beyond our means, we enjoyed simple pleasures. But did my attempt to fulfill their every heart’s desire breed expectations that give birth to disappointment?  

     In contrast, when we looked beyond our own hedges and rang the Salvation Army bell, or walked for life, we learned the reality behind “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).    

      In pursuing dreams, we must remember the moon is cold and barren.

      We dance by the light of the moon which is a reflection of the sun.  Likewise, true joy comes when Christians reflect  “the LIGHT of the world.” 

     Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”