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The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, May 18,2022, Page 7A Soul Food from the Hood by Keith Hood The Cat Has Caught The Moon I lived in Africa for some lunar eclipses. But I had no idea what their traditional worldview would be for the solar eclipse. Bigger than I had thought. I reminisced of our home in Africa during the blood moon Sunday night. In the African city of Koutiala, Mali, I sat capturing the day’s events in my journal one evening. It was like any ordinary night—as understood in the West African context. The big fruit bats were well installed in the mango trees over our house, claiming the mangos as their own before we humans considered them ready for consumption. Traffic had slowed considerably; still, an occasional moped or bush taxi bumbled by. Suddenly the tranquility of the evening was mugged by an organized hysteria. A mass of people equipped with drums, cans, buckets, sticks and anything else that would cause a ruckus marched down the road in front of our house. I thought, “It’s not normal for weddings to be held at night.” The herd eventually migrated by. At last, the fruit bats and I could go on about our nocturnal routines. Lo and behold, another group came, stomping their feet and kicking up a cloud of dust. They, too, banged pots, cans, drums and probably each other, sending a sonic boom seemingly all the way to the moon. They whooped and yelped with an urgency that conjured a feeling of a supernatural shadow land. Finally, it occurred to me—this was no wedding; there was a lunar eclipse, and these faithful Africans had heeded the call. The cat had caught the moon, and they were about the business of driving it away. They believed that if they didn’t, this evil in the heavenlies would perpetuate and someone would be stricken ill or die. Freedom has its price. Christians can draw spiritual parallels from this African folklore about the cat having caught the moon. We are like John the Bap tist: “(John) came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He him self was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light”(John 1:6-8). We Christians have no light of our own; we simply reflect the Son, the true Light. The same is true of the moon. It has no light of its own; it reflects the sun’s light. When the earth comes into the direct path of the sun and moon, it intercepts the sun’s light, causing a partial or total eclipse. The sun’s light doesn’t get to the moon, so the moon does not reflect any light. The cat has caught the moon! Similarly, when we allow the world to get in the way of our fellow ship with the Son, we reflect less of His Light. We don’t reflect as much of Christ’s glory. The cat has caught the moon! We can’t see the “cat” coming. In an eclipse, a shadow gradu ally covers the moon, and we may not even realize it’s there. The cat may come in the form of pride. We should say Hood with John the Baptist, “He must become greater, I must become less.”(John 3:30) If we always have to be number one and our lives are not about reflecting the glory of the Son, behold—the cat has caught the moon! As the apostle Peter said, “be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffer- ings”(l Peter 5:8-9). Sometimes we wel come the cat. We won’t let the Son’s Light reflect off of us because we’re afraid of making some one uncomfortable. Or we won’t reflect the Son’s light because “it’s just not cool.” As a result, we cause those within our sphere of influence to walk in a darkness greater than necessary. The cat has caught the moon! Our nationality matters not. If the cat has caught the moon, we need to drive it away by making some noise. The noise is prayer; “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous ness” (1 John 1:9). Let’s strive to fully reflect God’s light in this dark universe. Togeth er, let’s resolve to heed these words of the True Light: “In the same way, let your light shine be fore men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Free Dumpster Provided For Smithville Citizens Mayor Vincent Cutts reminded citizens in attendance at the Smith ville Council Meeting May 16 that the city is providing a free dump ster for Smithville resi dents to use. The orange dumpster is located in the public works yard behind the community building. Citizens can bring furniture and limbs and other unwanted items. When the orange dump ster is full, it will be re placed with another one. The intent is to eliminate items including furniture being placed by the side of the road. It was also pointed out that there is no need to burn limbs and other yard debris. The dumpster is being provided free for indi viduals to use which will result in a cleaner and beautiful city. “I’M PROUD TO BE YOUR LOCAL FARMERS AGENT.” FARMERS " INSURANCE Mercedes Aldridge Agent Life • Home • Auto Aldridge Agency Here for you! 108 HWY 32 W STE C Te | 759-9841 Leesburg, GA 31763 Fax 229-759-9844 maldridge@farmersagent.com So sad to see what Socialism is doing to our country. Little by little it is eating away at our Country’s Constitu tion and Bill of Rights. Trying to put everything under the Govern ment’s control. Stopping free speech and expres sion. The Administration trying to show the US popu lation that what we have is all wrong and pointing to Conserva tives to blame for all the problems. Separate the population into groups. Control how we are supposed to think, and the Mass Media report ing this as the Govern ments narrative on how we should live. Divide and confuse. A popular idea used by many. The USSR did this and it think for themselves and the States should decides by vote of its citizens our laws. What we have in our country has been defended and sacri ficed for almost three centuries by White, Black, Brown, Yellow, and Red skinned people, of all religions and who love this country. Let us not forget how this Great Nation came to be and why it has always been a “Shinning Beacon” for most of the world. The United States of Amer ica. One Nation. Under GOD, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for ALL. Not the few con trolling the many. Just my thoughts which were Granted to Me by many Great Americans from our Past. Robert Leach collapsed. Hitler’s Third Reich tried this Mania cal Idea and it collapsed. The Roman Empire put everything under Rome Authority until the mere weight of its own design caused it to collapse. This has been tried many times and history shows it always failed in the end. I hope we don’t let this happen to Our Country. Remember it is “We it The People”. Not the Government. We are the people Repre sented in Government that decides our future. The States created the Federal Government not the other way around. It grows even further. What gives their govern ment the right to tell us what is right or wrong for us. We are guaran teed to right for all to <T^e-LECect Donna * ASchool Board 'Thank you for considering me to serve a second! 4-year term on tfie Lee County SchooCBoard My Qualifications: *32 years working in Lee County Schools as a teacher, Principal and Curriculum Director *Bachelor’s degree, University of Florida in Education *Master’s degree, Georgia State University in Education and Administration *Specialist’s degree, Columbus State University in Education and Administration *U.S. Army for 24 years, retired *Resident of Lee County since 1978 *Two sons, started in Kindergarten and graduated Lee County High School My Community invoCvement: *Whiz Kids, First grade tutoring program *Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors *Lee County Library Board *Family Connections and Literate Lee Board member *Member & Trustee Chairman, Leesburg UMC My LAwarcCs: *Partner in Education, Lee County Chamber *Teacher of the Year, Lee County Primary & Elementary Schools *Albany Fierald’s, Best of the Best Principal 2004 & 2013 and Best of the Best School Board Member 2021 “1 Believe ChiCcCren are our future... ancC their future starts with a great education!” ...electh... 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