Hello, dear friends.
Today was the total solar eclipse. We had totality for 4 minutes and 2 seconds here in Franklin, IN. I watched the sun through my glasses go from an orange crescent to a thin sliver of light and then blackness. When I took the glasses off, the sun was encased in a rapturous glow of white and blue. Who knew the sun’s corona was so magnetic until you see it with your own two eyes. The darkness sent shivers and goosebumps down my arm. The 365 sunset was eerie yet phenomenal. From our backyard during midday, we could see Jupiter and Saturn. Caleb and I looked up in awe, soaking in the sensations around us before it disappeared.
As soon as totality came upon us, it was complete. Like a switch, the streetlights blinked off, and the sky brightened into a gold hue. Daylight was back once more.
The four minutes we had were like a dream. I understand why so many travel to great lengths to be in the moon’s shadow for a few minutes. Pictures, not even the ones with the advanced cameras, can’t compete with seeing it with your own two eyes. Or feeling the air get 15 degrees cooler in a matter of seconds.
Reflecting on the day, I think about what I’ve heard about eclipses as spiritual celestial events. Trust me, I’m not one to dance in fairy circles, but I believe these natural, astronomical phenomena aren’t only for the thrills. They are gateways to remind us of where our hope and faith live.
Eclipses bring in new energy. They can symbolize a clean slate, a change, or a fresh start.
I pray that this new eclipse era ushers in a new perspective, a hope, a peace. I want this to be a threshold to a beginning where I can let go of the things I know aren’t for me. Loosening my grip on the things that aren’t working when I often try to force them to be right.
I pray that I can stress less on the prominent areas of friction and hold on to the hope that they will work themselves out over due time. I pray that I can use the energy I spend on stress and focus it on the areas of life that I want to thrive in, where there is a real, beautiful life I want to live.
I pray that this eclipse can be a window to a reality that brings kinder decisions and abundant love to our neighbors. I pray that we can all come together for each other through times of celebration and struggles, during times of joy and pain.
I pray that when we face our shadows, we are kind and look to the soft light of grace we can only see in times of darkness. I pray for you. I pray for me. I pray for all of us to feel hope as we sleep tonight and wake up again to continue the week.
Caleb and I went for a walk this evening; our town was quiet enough that you could hear crickets chirping. There is an aurora to the day, one of beauty, grace, and thankfulness to have witnessed something so raw and beautiful right in our backyards.
I’m reminded that while we lift our eyes to the sky, it’s in my heart and yours that we must carry forward these prayers – a portal within us of change and hope for the future.