Night of the Rainbow Moon

 Friday night was not a good one.

I spectacularly blew it. I had the biggest meltdown in the history of this month. In this year. 

Now, the meltdown was stupid. I will admit that. The house was a wreck, but that doesn't justify a meltdown.

During the meltdown, I reached out to a few friends via text and asked for prayer. Besides praying for me, one of them coached me through some breathing exercises and told me to step outside and just breathe. Everything within me wanted to say that it wouldn't work, but I grabbed a plate of food and marched myself outside and sat down at our picnic table and ate.

Sometime during the stillness, I looked up and saw this moon. It was stunning. Wreathed in rainbows and clouds, it lit up the night sky. And as I gazed at the moon, everything else subsided and I was able to breathe.

I could hear the rumbling of a few cars passing. Frogs began to sing somewhere in the forest and the neighbor's dog barked a few times. The stillness and the relative quietness of the night helped calm me down. It was cold. 45 degrees. But the cold helped to jolt me to rights. 

I guess sometimes all you need is to go outside, breathe and be still. Even though your thoughts are racing, they'll eventually still as you listen to the noises around you.

One of the things I love about the night sky is that when you look up at the stars and the moon, you feel small and carried. You don't feel alone and your problems look small. 

The night may have started terrible, but it ended with peace. 

Thank heavens for good friends who remind you to breathe and to get outside.

-Julia Garcia / Arysta Henry