By Meghan Peterson.
The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the staff or other editors of this newspaper.
“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
The other day, my oldest son, Toddler Boy and I were pretending to be detectives. Specifically, we were “sleuthing,” as we like to call it: attempting to find buried toy treasures (or old cereal and the inevitably squished-dried out-squished again fruit snack) throughout our home. The locations for such finds cover a range – corners of couches, inside the ottoman, or underneath the Mommy chair. On occasion, we discover blocks or construction men near the milk and juice in the fridge. Even the kitchen stockpot serves as a stopping point for Toddler Boy’s cars and trucks. This practice of sleuthing is a great activity because parent and child can play it both inside and outside – it is a classic all-season game, if you will. That said, I have not yet begun applying points or the concept of winning money for the yields of detective work. Rather, the joy comes from two things – the game itself and the tangible reward of the find…of course, the once-lost toy!
As we were playing, Toddler Boy said to me, “Mommy, I need a flashlight to find the toy…moon is a flashlight.” I looked at him and paused for a moment. I thought to myself, “Moon is a flashlight, huh?” And then I smiled at him and exclaimed, “Yes, that is it! The moon is God’s flashlight. If you need to find something when it is dark, the moon will help light your way.” He said to me, “Sun is light during day, Mommy.” Talk about a lightbulb moment. For this Mommy-Toddler sleuthing team, it was clear: the sun is our day light, the moon is our flashlight.
I imagine that many of us are dealing with the lingering effects of springing forward, as we once again wake during the dark and yet find it staying lighter later. The staying lighter later part is key here – that is the reward for this Spring season. When we discover renewed energy and alertness with our families, our friends, our communities, those are the finds. And these discoveries both occur in and because of, God’s day light and His flash light.
