Did you see it?

Last night, we gathered at one of the windows in the guest room of our home and quietly watched the last half of the lunar eclipse as the moon emerged from the earth's shadow and shone its full and glorious face down on planet earth. Did you see it?

Later my husband and I went out for our weekly date, and I looked up through the moon roof of the car and smiled as the Woman in the moon smiled down on me. The sky sparkled with stars, but the moon was the brightest light of all. Did you see it?

I thought about all the times in which people question the faithfulness of God. People often say that God is unreliable, undependable, and uninvolved with the world. Certainly there is much about this world and this life that is unpredictable. I don't deny that.

There are many who say that the earth, this galaxy in which we exist, and all the universe were caused by a cosmic accident, the result of a huge bang billions of years ago. They say that God, if there is a god, had nothing to do with it. Out of nothing, the universe exploded into existence. There is nothing beyond us; everything that is came about randomly. Those of us who believe in God are the weak, deluded ones, so say the skeptics and athiests.

How anyone can seriously think that a huge explosion resulted in the intricacies of the human body and brain, the instinctual activities of animals in the wild, and the very predictable ebb and flow of the ocean's tides is beyond me. It reminds me of the book entitled, "I don't have enough faith to be an athiest." I don't have that much faith, that's for sure.

Last night, as we drove to The Cheesecake Factory for dessert (ask any baker if an explosion in an oven ever created a masterpiece of confectionary perfection...) and I gazed up at the moon, I thought to myself: The Creator God's goodness and provision are so predictable that we can know down to the minute when the eclipse will begin and end. We can plant seeds in soil, seeds and soil we cannot create, design, or fully explain, wait a few months for the cycles of rain, sunshine, and growth to take place, and then harvest our food. We can predict when a baby will be born - with great accuracy - and celebrate that life on the same day every year for as long as he (or she) lives.

Is all of that an accident? A random occurence? I think not.

Last night I stood on our front lawn with my tiny dog, a tall cold drink in hand, and raised a toast to the full moon, the wonder that is this life, and gave thanks to The Creator God not only for His bountiful provision of that magnificent orb suspended there in the deep, dark firmament, but also for the opportunity to enjoy and celebrate beauty in all its forms.

What a glorious moonlit night it was.
Did you see it?