I almost had the moon this morning.
Last night, I did something I hadn't done in months. I walked outside. Because of my health, my bedtime is very early, and the time when my body starts winding down and giving in to the day begins when the sun is still up.
I think the last time I drove at night was last year for the Christmas Eve service.
But I wanted to see the full moon last night and if I could manage, the partial eclipse. I wanted to try out my camera and get the perfect moon shot.
The moon seemed to fill the sky and yet it was too much of a good thing. The camera couldn't pick up the intricate contrasts of the moon's surface.
Though I knew I would miss the eclipse, I thought that I had a better chance of taking a picture of the moon, ironically, this morning during the sunrise. And sure enough, when I took the trash out, there was the moon, holding steady and still, waiting for its close-up.
I was greedy, though. I wanted the picture for today's 365 Days of Hope, which meant, I needed to take the picture from the church. The church was only ten minutes away. I knew the moon could not possibly disappear in that amount of time.
But it did.
By the time I got to church, the moon was gone, either swallowed by the clouds or overcome by the sunrise. Either way, I missed it.
Missed opportunities. I know the missed opportunities in my life are too numerous to count. My guess is that you have suffered from missed opportunities in your own life. Maybe you don't call them missed opportunities, though. You probably know them by another name.
Regret.
Regret is one of life's stop signs. Sometimes regret is good. It gives us a chance to analyze ourselves and the mistakes we've made and gives us yet another opportunity to make sure we do better next time.
But sometimes regret hangs on for too long. The light changes green and we're still stuck at the intersection, unable or unwilling to move.
I missed a chance this morning with the moon and if it weren't for the fact that there were a number of cars in the parking lot and I was afraid of being seen, I might have thrown a stomp-your-feet temper tantrum right there.
Instead I moved on. The moon was gone. What else did God have for me?
Florida is a land of amazing contrast in the autumn and winter. Leaves turn brown and vines die and break off. It is what anyone would expect from this time of year. But Florida is also blessed with the migration of birds from the north, so even in a time of seasonal death or hibernation, the land is filled with life.
There is no better example of this, I think, than the picture I took today, the alternate to the moon.
Here we see the bright red of the bird contrasting sharply with the dead vines. She had no place to hide.
Getting this picture required a lot of patience and a lot of pictures. The key to getting a good picture is to take fifty or more of them and hope one will turn out just right.
I missed the moon. I had it for a second and let it go without meaning to.
But I did not miss the bird.
One opportunity followed another.
Last night, I did something I hadn't done in months. I walked outside. Because of my health, my bedtime is very early, and the time when my body starts winding down and giving in to the day begins when the sun is still up.
I think the last time I drove at night was last year for the Christmas Eve service.
But I wanted to see the full moon last night and if I could manage, the partial eclipse. I wanted to try out my camera and get the perfect moon shot.
The moon seemed to fill the sky and yet it was too much of a good thing. The camera couldn't pick up the intricate contrasts of the moon's surface.
Though I knew I would miss the eclipse, I thought that I had a better chance of taking a picture of the moon, ironically, this morning during the sunrise. And sure enough, when I took the trash out, there was the moon, holding steady and still, waiting for its close-up.
I was greedy, though. I wanted the picture for today's 365 Days of Hope, which meant, I needed to take the picture from the church. The church was only ten minutes away. I knew the moon could not possibly disappear in that amount of time.
But it did.
By the time I got to church, the moon was gone, either swallowed by the clouds or overcome by the sunrise. Either way, I missed it.
Missed opportunities. I know the missed opportunities in my life are too numerous to count. My guess is that you have suffered from missed opportunities in your own life. Maybe you don't call them missed opportunities, though. You probably know them by another name.
Regret.
Regret is one of life's stop signs. Sometimes regret is good. It gives us a chance to analyze ourselves and the mistakes we've made and gives us yet another opportunity to make sure we do better next time.
But sometimes regret hangs on for too long. The light changes green and we're still stuck at the intersection, unable or unwilling to move.
I missed a chance this morning with the moon and if it weren't for the fact that there were a number of cars in the parking lot and I was afraid of being seen, I might have thrown a stomp-your-feet temper tantrum right there.
Instead I moved on. The moon was gone. What else did God have for me?
Florida is a land of amazing contrast in the autumn and winter. Leaves turn brown and vines die and break off. It is what anyone would expect from this time of year. But Florida is also blessed with the migration of birds from the north, so even in a time of seasonal death or hibernation, the land is filled with life.
There is no better example of this, I think, than the picture I took today, the alternate to the moon.
Here we see the bright red of the bird contrasting sharply with the dead vines. She had no place to hide.
Getting this picture required a lot of patience and a lot of pictures. The key to getting a good picture is to take fifty or more of them and hope one will turn out just right.
I missed the moon. I had it for a second and let it go without meaning to.
But I did not miss the bird.
One opportunity followed another.
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