Since I was a small child and looked up into the night sky hand in hand with my father and brother to watch the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite race across the heavens, I have been fascinated with the stars and space exploration. It isn’t any surprise, then, that I made it a priority to view the December 21, 2010 winter solstice lunar eclipse. This one would be spectacular, reported the media, NASA, and Space.com. An event not to be missed, since the last full lunar eclipse to occur on the winter solstice had taken place in 1638 and would not occur again until 2094. An event of a lifetime.
I awoke at about 1:00 a.m. when the eclipse would reach its peak in my time zone. Bundling into a thick blanket and boots, I stepped outside into the cold, clear night, my backyard as hushed and tranquil as a domed cathedral. At first I couldn’t locate the moon. Strange, I thought. The moon should be.... And then I saw it: a rust-red orb directly to the right of the constellation Orion. Oh, my. No wonder I hadn’t been able to locate it at first. The earth’s shadow had completely overtaken the face of the full moon. The shadow hid the moon’s usual radiance so that each constellation—Orion, Cassiopeia, The Big Dipper, The Pleiades, Gemini, Taurus and others—bloomed with magnified brilliance in the darkened sky. The heavens had never seemed so bright.
I’d done some research about the phenomenon of the moon’s red hue. Dr. Tony Phillips (Credit: Science@NASA*) said it best, so I quote him here:
“Imagine yourself standing on a dusty lunar plain looking up at the sky. Overhead hangs Earth, nightside down, completely hiding the sun behind it. The eclipse is underway. You might expect Earth seen in this way to be utterly dark, but it's not. The rim of the planet is on fire! As you scan your eye around Earth's circumference, you're seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all of them, all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb.”
This event was so awe inspiring, so magnificent, personal and spiritual, I felt as if God were putting on this show just for me and no one else. “You’re here, Lord,” I whispered to Him quietly. “Just you and me, though I know millions across North America and beyond are also seeing what I’m seeing.” And then the scripture came to mind: “For of him [Jesus] and through him, and to him, are all things to whom be glory for ever.”
I stood a long time marveling at the splendor taking place in the heavens. Oh, the glory of it! The sun, earth, and moon had moved into perfect alignment so that the earth cast a vermilion shadow directly over the face of the moon. Just for Jesus. Just for me—the synchronized wheels of the cosmos spinning according to His perfect plan, and the tilting of the Earth at that exact moment when one season slides into the next. All these marvelous events taking place in time and space, exactly as they should.
When the earth moved and the eclipse diminished, I slipped back into my house and into bed, feeling closer to the Lord than I had in days. I understood in a new-found way that in the midst of my daily busy-ness, Jesus continues to hold my world together through His grace, love, and tender care. “I praise you, Lord,” I murmured just before falling asleep, “that you are always near, doing great and wondrous works—if we would but take the time to discover and acknowledge them. Your plan is a perfect plan, and I am humbled and thankful that You hold this amazing universe of ours in the palm of Your magnificent hand.”
* Phillips, Tony. “Solstice Lunar Eclipse.” NASA Science/Science News 17 Dec. 2010. http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/17dec_solsticeeclipse/
Pam
As I was leaving Goodwill I marveled at the miracle of my dollar Bible. It might not be up there with seas parting and withered hands being made whole but a minor miracle nonetheless when one considers that 800 years ago no one who was middle class could afford a Bible even if they saved for a lifetime. The painstakingly copied, handwritten, works were just too expensive and accessible to just a few select persons. Clearly, God had another plan. His Word should be readily available. So men were inspired, creativity put in motion, innovation and invention brought forth. The result was the printing press, an invention that as Francis Bacon put it "changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world.”
In arrogance, humankind likes to think it was all their doing. After all, don’t we call such inventions manmade? Ha, as if. God created everything that has ever been created. He made humans and infused us with His breath. Our bodies are made up of 100 trillion cells working together in unity, harmony and cooperation. (Obviously, this is God’s orchestration since these are not attributes uninspired man excels in). It is God’s influence that sees to it we can breathe air and manufacture enough energy from our breakfast of Cheerios to walk outside and pick up the paper. He gifted us with imagination, creativity, and the power of reasoning. It is His doing that we have language, math and the tiniest glimmer of the understanding of physics. Our talents are a faint reflection of God’s own creativity.
Without God’s influence pulling it all together, everything would just be countless random elements floating around in a chaotic cloud of dust. But instead we have limitless stars and planets orbiting each other in perfect harmony. We have a breathtakingly beautiful planet made up of majestic mountains, endless seas, sparkling brooks, vast forests and every evening for our viewing pleasure, a splendid sunset. God so loves us, that it is all for us to enjoy, believers and nonbelievers alike. Mat. 5:45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” And He so loves us that He saw to it that Bibles could be made inexpensively and easily available for many people.
As I thumb through my Goodwill Bible I give thanks and praise to the One who makes it all possible. Who else to surrender your life to but the One who made it all and is sovereign over all?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press
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