A Moonlit Walk


I opened my eyes to see moonlight, filigreed with ash tree shadows, splashed on our comforter. Sleep vanished (or rather, vain attempts to sleep were forsaken), as I was drawn irresistibly by the silvery light and the promise it held of solitude, silence, and stillness. Donning wool hat, scarf, mittens and a down jacket over my pajamas, I slipped out the back door into the fullness of the night.

My thoughts, jumbled like scattered pick-up sticks while I had lain abed, began to align themselves with each step I took in the moon-dappled darkness. Confusion, anxiety , and insecurity yielded to truth and reality in the free-flowing, uninterrupted meditation and prayer of my predawn walk.

Tension replaced by quiet wonder, I continued to walk, now seeing the bright star (more likely a planet) over the frozen swamp. Through spidery tree limbs and misty atmosphere, it really does twinkle and shine with many points. A few dimmer stars peered through the growing cloud cover. The half moon shone down brightly from the still-clear southwestern sky, illuminating even the faint path of my footsteps in the grass. Surrounded by the unspectacular beauty of a common night, I walked in peace and quiet communion with nature, myself, and my Creator.

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