Happy Moon Festival

 Happy Moon Festival

Every time I stepped outside my house in the evenings this weekend, one thing, or rather one smell has prevailed....

Barbecue!

That alone paired up with the full,  lovely moon is enough for anyone who has lived in Taiwan for any amount of time to know that the Mid-Autumn Festival or more commonly called Moon Festival has arrived.

We were naive our first year. Standing out on our seventh floor balcony, we could see all these families seated on stools hunched over their small grills, or more  commonly referred to here, barbecues. For hours they gathered, grilled, ate, and generally just hung out together. Moon Festival is a time for families to gather and enjoy each other's company. 

Last year our friends, Michael and Anna, took us to a huge neighborhood barbecue. So huge an entire street was blocked off to accommodate all the families  and their friends barbecuing. You may remember my post a year ago. You know, the one where Michael made me get up on a stage and sing Country Roads. THAT didn't happen this year!

This evening as Carl and I strolled past gathering friends and misty grilling smoke, the moon shone brightly for all to gaze upon and admire.

 It reminded me of a shirt I bought for Jacob many years ago. On the front was a large moon with the words Be the Moon. The back of the shirt held the clincher.... 

Reflect the Son.

I was actually thinking about that shirt the other day as I prayed before leaving for school. So often in today's culture, we are bombarded with an  its-all-about-me attitude. 

Look how smart I am.

Look how beautiful I am.

Look how athletic I am.

Look how popular I am.

Look how rich I am.

At one point or another, we all have become wrapped up in being who we want to be.

But should that really be our goal?

Should we rather want God's pure love, joy, peace, patience, wisdom to reflect from us?

Shouldn't that be the goal, the target, of our lives? 

The moon is beautiful, especially tonight, but it is not so within itself.

Its beauty is in reflecting the true source of light- the sun.

How about you? 

Are you reflecting the Son?

That's my prayer as I head into another week of teaching!