Take A Moment

I had to share this sight with you. Tonight was one of those nights where I am standing outside, for only so long as to register so majestic a sight before I run inside and grab my faithful Canon and my handy tripod, then come sprawled, running back outside.
(And yes, I didn't think about all those photographers with their SLRs. I was faithful to my point-and-shoot, be not afeared).
But as I stood their under that goddess of a moon, what was I to do but think of all the other times, all the other places, all the other ways I have seen that same moon, gilt in its lonely sorrow? I saw again with dilated pupils the same moon I saw atop a mound of rocks out in the mountains. I felt once again that irresistible pleasure of being alone in the expanse of nature. Me, God, and God's work.
And after the first shock of it all, I thought back to a time when I sat under the teaching of another who reminded me how much we really value everything we have. No matter how many times we tell ourselves that all we really care about is God, that we don't really value our stuff, in the depths of our heart, we can't give it up. He had explained to me that when we get to heaven, we won't even be able to think of our toys and cameras and televisions, our books and stories and money. We won't be able to think of anything but God's Glory.
I realized then that it was hard for me to understand. In the bustling hurriedness (is that a word?) of my life, all I thought about was facebook, cell phone, school work, exams, and things like that.
And then the first time I understood what that teacher was talking about, was when all those things were taken away from me. The first time was atop that mountain in the dead of night. I thought of nothing but God's glory in the expanse of sky above me (and I finally understood expanse, its where you lean on your back and see neither tree nor stone in the corner of your eye), his wonder in the stones and crags that stretched on forever (and I glimpsed a specimen of forever, and realized how far forever really was), and his love in giving me this gift.
The second time I realized it was tonight. By some force of science, (I have read it explained somewhere) the moon was largest it has been this year. I had read the news on yahoo (yay yahoo!), and had walked outside to try to find a place to set up my tripod. To my dismay, the moon was nowhere to be found, though the sun still shone brightly. But that can't be right; the sun has set, I had thought. And then it gained height, and what was the sun became to my understanding, not a sun, but a moon.

This picture does not even describe the beauty I witnessed tonight. I fervently hope you all got a chance to see it too. :)
Sorry about all the heavy stuff, I had to get it off my chest and give my fingers a chance to splurge and have some fun.