Naked Moon Dance

Anybody besides me remember the song The Streak by Ray Stevens? I'm sure there are at least a few of you who grew up in the South who remember it, and probably even some of you who recall popping a big old 8-track tape into the player in your car and laughing it up every time you played the song. For those of you who are scratching your heads and wondering what an 8-track is or who in the world Ray Stevens is and what the word "streaking" means ... Google all three and then listen to the song. If you have an ounce of humor in you, I don't think you'll be able to hear the song and not smile. Within the lyrics is a line that became super popular back in the day ... a line that was repeated a gazillion times, and still is today by some of us old fogies out there ... a line uttered in the song by a husband telling a news reporter what he said to his wife when a man ran naked through several different places in town. "'Don't look, Ethel!' But it was too late. She'd done been mooned." Just typing those words causes a smile to cross my face as I recall times when my friends and I would sing the song at the top of our lungs and laugh like fools.

Last night after I got home from Awana, I played in the yard with Julie for a few minutes and then Ollie and I headed out into the cool, dark night for a walk. As I've written before, when it's really dark, we walk along the sidewalk next to the main road close to my house. But last night, I was in a deeply pensive mood concerning a conversation I had earlier in the day with a co-worker, so I tugged Ollie onto the trail ... the very, very, very dark trail. For all of the irrational fears I now possess (if you're a new reader, you'll have to go back and read some of my previous posts), I was so deep in thought that it wasn't until we had walked almost an hour that the thought crossed my mind that there could be lions and tigers and bears lurking in the woods close to the path we were on and that we should probably find a sidewalk to lead us back home. And that's when it happened ... that's when I looked up into the night sky and saw the moon ... and that's when God spoke to my heart in a gigantic way.

The sky was laced with clouds, and only part of the moon was peeking out from behind them. I stopped dead in my tracks and watched as the clouds blew across the sky, covering and then uncovering the moon. I'm not sure how long I stood on the empty, dark trail and watched the heavenly dance that was occurring above me ... I was completely fascinated with the scene that God had placed before me. My mind raced to the conversation from the afternoon with my co-worker ... a heartfelt, emotional conversation as she sat in the chair next to my desk talking about honesty, realness and acceptance. As the moon danced out from behind the clouds ... I was struck by how bare it looked against the night sky without the clothing of the clouds to cover it.

It's naked, I said out loud to the darkness ... the moon is naked ... it's naked and bare without the clouds. I wonder what it looks like from heaven ... I wonder what the moon looks like from God's perspective as He sits upon His throne. And as quickly as those thoughts entered my mind, a much bigger thought came crashing in to take their place. "I see the moon as I see you, child ... hidden behind the clouds of life ... peeking out from time to time as the breeze moves the clouds away ... I see you from the other side of the clouds ... I see you naked and bare ... I see you uncovered ... I see the real you ... no clouds, no cover, no hiding ... I see you, child ... I see you." As I turned to walk home, I couldn't help but breathe a prayer of thanks for the moon ... for the message ... for the mighty hand of God.

Thank You, Lord, for the moon tonight, for making me lift my eyes to see it ... thank You for speaking to me in the dance ... thank you for speaking to me in the naked moon dance.