Jaycee Dugard described recently in her interview with Diane Sawyer that the night before she was rescued there was a full moon. ‘For some reason I looked up and the moon was bright and beautiful,’ Jaycee recalled.

One hundred and twenty miles away her mother was also looking at the moon, which had become a symbol of hope for the two women without them even knowing it.

‘I had gone to my second job and got home about 8.30/9pm,’ Terry said. ‘I looked up at the moon. I remember saying: “OK Jayce where are you, where the hell are you?”

The next day, Jaycee Dugard would be rescued from the hell that had been her life for 18 years. In that same interview she talked about looking out at the moon and clinging to the memory of when she and her Mom would gaze at the moon together and talk about which was better, the full moon or the crescent moon.

My Mom says she always thinks of me when it’s a crescent moon because I once told her I loved a sliver moon. Actually, I love the moon anytime. Soon after my niece was born, my brother made it part of their routine to go outside each night they were together and find the moon. It is something they still do, just the two of them. I think it is a wonderful gift he has given her.

As I left for work yesterday morning, the moon looked very much like the picture I posted today. I thought about Jaycee then, and how strong she had to be to hold out any hope at all after what she had been through. I thought of how the moon has been hope for me, just the existence of it assures me that all is still well. God is still in control.

Every time I gaze at the moon, I see the bigger picture. More than once, it has taken my breath away.

Because when I am staring at the moon?  It is His light, His face I see.

And if not for His light we wouldn’t be able to see that moon or the stars or each other for that matter. And if not for the light of Salvation and His grace, we would all be held captive.

With no hope of rescue, and only the moon to save us.