Moonstruck

Last week, we happened to be outdoors at night with Sophie when the clouds suddenly moved over to hide the moon. We witnessed it. A chilling sight, but fascinating at the same time - for the adults, at least.

Unfortunately, Sophie was terrified. She continued to be terrified for a week or so. It has been such a challenge to bring her out in the evenings. She would cry while seated on my lap in the car, putting my hand over her eyes to block the view. It was almost impossible to convince her to look out of the window and enjoy the sights like she used to. There were nightmares; the curtains at home had to be shut otherwise she wouldn't venture near the window after dark and it was getting a little ridiculous; and we had to be very careful and sensitive whenever topics concerning "clouds", "moon" and "night" came about in our conversations at home.

Thankfully, after a lot of prayer, "casual" chats about how our good God is bigger than everything, tactful explanations on how God "made two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars" (Gen. 1:16), allowing her to wear shades whenever she had to step out of the house at night, object lessons, a storybook featuring a little bear that was afraid of the dark, and various forms of desensitization, she is recovering from her fright. Now, she can at least go out without her shades and look up at the stars in the sky at night, like she used to. The world has resumed a sense of normalcy. Phew.

What the week has taught me, though, is patience. I think I love Sophie a little more now.