the moon

I hold the Moon to be one of the most fascinating of celestial entities. Comets come and go, shooting stars are neat but you can never trust them to stick around. The Moon is there, and it holds true to its course. It is even makes appearances in the daylight hours. True it is constant and predictable but it has its shining moments and its devious nature adds personality; it appears to move one way when in actuality it does not. This just reminds us that things are not always as they appear. It is intriguing to me that the Moon can be seen by two people in different parts of the globe simultaneously. I really don’t know why, as the same can be said of the sun. So how does the Moon get such an honor? Perhaps it is that the Moon is not required to be out for it to be night, the sun on the other hand is pre-requisite to day, but the Moon can (and does) come and go as it pleases. It is willing to take second amongst the daylight hours, or shine in supreme luster through a night sky at its choosing. There is nothing wrong with second, especially when you are competing with such a shining star as the sun.

I believe that we, as children of God, are no too unlike the Moon and that we should seek to emulate it. The Moon, of its self, does not shine. It requires a greater source, a greater entity. How much would you care about the Moon if the sun did not bring it to light? The Moon is a servant to the Earth and is dedicated to its eternal purpose. The moon reflects the splendid brilliance of the sun, the source of all life and light here on Earth. St. John 8:12, as well as numerous other passages of scripture (Doctrine & Covenants 11:28), refers to Christ as the Light and Life of the world. Sun and Son are fantastically analogous. So the Son shines and we reflect that light to the world. We serve the world. Otherwise we are dark, barren, and cold- left alone without cause or purpose. We must shine, we must serve- it provides purpose.

superheroes

Kids rarely know what is good for them. Personally as a kid I wasn’t too bad (I think so anyway, hopefully my parents feel the same way.) I took my baths, I ate my veggies, I went to bed; I wasn’t the best at school work. Anyway, that’s not the point, what I had the most trouble with, along with most of my brothers, was Dad. My dad was a big-bearded, scary-looking, redheaded, work enforcing, terrifier of youth. I was certainly scared of him. I recall thinking of him at times as a slave driver, and guess who the slave was. Oh yeah. Not fun. I was mowing lawns before I was as tall as the lawn mower. Weeding flowerbeds, painting fences, clearing debris, hauling firewood, you name it, never was there nothing to do. My brothers and I were not interested. We felt we had better things to do; climbing trees, watching TV, video and computer games, reading books, playing with friends, whatever little boys like to do.

Fortunately I grew up. I realized my dad was not what I imagined him to be. I realized that I had no idea what was good for me. I know now that my dad knew what he was doing and I am extremely thankful for him. He has become my example, my idol. He is my everyday superhero. I have not read of any superhero that can match my dad in ability, achievement, knowledge, bravery, fortitude, valor, or genuine greatness. My dad tops them all. Though my childhood may have not been full of fun and games it was full of learning and experience. As an adult I understand and cherish my dads foresight in limiting what I thought then was good for me. Elbert Hubbard is accredited with saying, “Where parents do too much for their children, the children will not do much for themselves.” I am forever thankful to my dad for not doing too much for me as I see my peers who were not fortunate enough to have a superhero dad. Dads truly are real life superheroes. To the child’s eye they seem indestructible. They know everything, and seem at times to be capable of anything. It is unfortunate that some kids grow into a clouded perception of his or her father. I love my superhero dad and am glad I am one of the lucky few to consider him my father. May each of us remember our dads as the superheroes we once held them to be. Happy Father’s Day Pops!