Walking Penelope today “I saw the moon and the moon saw me.” I love that verse from the children’s nursery rhyme about the moon. Mr. Waxing moon was perched right behind my house this afternoon in that beautiful dark blue winter sky. I thought he was fully dressed but research on today’s moon says he’s only 94 percent illuminated. I could see all the grayish periwinkle colored craters on his luminous face. He woke up early so Father Sky won’t have to drag him out from his cloud covers tonight.

Been watching the birds out the lady den windows today. My front yard was full of woodpeckers and cardinals but the side yard feeders were serving the titmice and the chickadees. The titmice look just like toy soldiers to me. They sit erect on the perches surveying the landscape with their large black eyes, their crests erect, ruffled by the wind. They hurriedly grab a seed and off they fly. They always make me think of soldiers on their watch, standing guard and keeping a look out.

While I was studying the birds a large golden ray of sunlight came beaming through the windows and illuminated a kindergarten photo of Rosie. She’s sitting in Santa’s lap in the photo taken at Russell Corporation’s after school program. Kept waiting for the beam to get larger to include the other photos but it just focused on Rosie for several minutes and then it was gone. I know that sun beam was special, perhaps a visit from her. I read somewhere once that children were sunbeams of Jesus.

The sun rises each day, breaks through the clouds, warms the Earth with her streaming rays. She light the days, melts the snow, make the plants grow. She’s the primary source of energy for life on Earth and we could not exist without her. The sun heals us as does God’s love and heavenly grace. Scripture in Malachi 4:2-3 reads, “But, for my followers, goodness will shine on you like the rising sun. And it will bring healing power like the sun’s rays.”

We can compare God’s comforting presence, his warmth and joy to the sun. In the Bible, God is said to be a sun and a shield. Psalm 84:11 reads, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” We can think of God’s care of us as a shield. He protects us and is steadfast in helping us through our battles. He give us grace and mercy without our request. When we walk “uprightly” we are living life obedient to his commandments.

Just like the sun, God is our source for life, radiating a guiding light that comforts us with its warmth. “The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you,” Numbers 6:25. God gave his light and warmth to all creation. We live with the warmth of God’s touch on our lives. We live with joy in our hearts because he is with us, watching over us, comforting us. He is the world’s source of goodness. There is no darkness in God’s light, he shines through the shadows and fill the spaces with his light. He will guide us and protect us.

“The beauty of the sunbeam lies partly in the fact that God does not keep it; he gives it away to us all.” — David Swing