After a long week at work, dealing with elections, the latest mayhem on the streets and myriad personnel issues, my weekend finally arrived tonight, just after midnight, when I took my almost nightly stroll through the neighborhood.
It is a safe place to walk — not the safest neighborhood I have ever lived in, but safe enough if you stay alert. For a neighborhood in the center of town, just off one of the main drags, it gets peacefully quiet at night. Just keep an eye out for the shadows.
It is home.
The past few nights have been especially pleasant, and not just because the Florida humidity has given way to the slightest wisp of fall. In a month or so, it will be perfect.
No, what has made my walks this week memorable is the moon overhead, its fullness serving both as a beacon for where I am and where I am going, and as a touchstone for memories.
Or maybe it's just where I see God.
Walking in the moonlight always has been especially relaxing for me, helping clear my mind and refresh my spirit.
Tonight, it did that for me, as I remembered those things in life that really matter.
Family.
Friends.
True happiness.
I am not a holy roller. In fact, I'm almost in perpetual doubt about my faith.
But in moments like tonight, I feel especially close to God.
I feel he is listening to my prayers, so I make them extra special.
I pray for myself, that I find and hold a sense of peace in life, and that the memories I need to forget, I do, and those that remind me of who I really am, I do not.
But I also pray for my family.
And for my friends.
That they be protected in all that they do, and that they find the wisdom and the courage to be nothing less than extraordinary in their lives. That they know I am always on their side.
And that they, too, find peace in the moonlight.
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