Linda and I observed Sinus Iridum together about this same time during the last moon cycle. The theme in the last post is about the same for this one: love one another. Sure sounds like a simple phrase, which comes from John 15:17, but it’s context in the last days of Christ before the crucifixion demands a deeper meaning than human-based affection.
Love is not love until it is tried through unlovely circumstances to see if it holds together. And, even when it does, it is cause for a believer to be humble and give thanks for His grace. We have been through difficulties, a lot of disease, but also times of mistakes and sin that meant we had to confess our failings to each other and our God. Our God is not some pie-in-the-sky utopian figment of imagination. Relating to Him has a good deal more reality. Observing parts of His creation has only served to heighten the knowledge of His hand at work. So doing it together is a treat that we respectfully hold carefully.
So as we watched the moon and sketched Sinus Iridum together, we were thinking about a larger picture of being together and how that had persisted. We sketched with thanks. It was a good evening to do just that: give thanks and enjoy the “ruler of the night” when it was high in sky. As usual, it’s phasing and changing surface with changing light are always a challenge to capture on any particular evening. this evening we were struck by the high contrast in the walls of Sinus Iridum, so it became the target. Linda’s sketch follows:
My sketch brings up the rear:
The quote from Psalm 148 is part of a larger body of verses where His creation “sings” its praise. The moon sure did it on this particular evening.
Roland
