2017 Total Solar Eclipse – not to be missed.

Our family went up to the zone of totality in Stanley, Idaho to witness the Great American Eclipse on August 21, 2017. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely convinced that it would be worth the effort of dragging everyone out of bed at 4 in the morning to make sure we missed traffic and got an adequate viewing spot.  I thought to myself (and out loud), Boise will have 99.4% totality.  We can just watch it from our backyard in peace.  How different could that possibly be from a total solar eclipse?

Fortunately the drive to Stanley was rather uneventful(though the 4 a.m. wake up time was brutal).  The crowds that the media had warned about, virtually non-existent.  We parked in a field that had been designated for eclipse viewing that could have held thousands of cars.  There were fifty.  Maybe.  Apparently, our surrounding states were pretty non-plussed about the whole idea of a celestial event and didn’t bother to make their way to Idaho.  We could have slept in until 7:30 and made it to Stanley with time to spare.  Regardless, we enjoyed time with cousins and the surrounding views for the hours leading up to the eclipse.

Watching the moon slowly make its way into the path of the Sun through the safety of special glasses was exciting.  We marveled as it inched across the Sun and could see and feel changes in the amount of sunlight as it did so, so slow that they were almost imperceptible.  Still, the light of the Sun was powerful enough that, without our safety glasses, we could not actually view the solar eclipse.  Until that brilliant moment when the two were perfectly aligned and we could remove the glasses and witness a singular event that we will never forget.  It was absolutely incredible.

Tim experienced a solar eclipse as a missionary in Colombia years ago.  On the Sunday thereafter, he teased the local members of the church there for scrambling to the podium during fast and testimony meeting to bear their “testimonies” concerning the eclipse.  Having viewed totality myself, I completely get it now.  There are so many spiritual parallels in life’s events, notably the ones that God provides through nature.

Here’s what was so remarkable to me about this experience.  I had never paused to contemplate the effect the light of the Sun has on the earth.  It was mind-boggling to me that the Sun’s light is SO powerful that even when 99.6, or, 99.7 right up to 99.9 percent of it was covered, the light was still blinding to behold with the naked eye.  The eclipse lasted less than 2 ½ minutes, during which time the entire horizon 360 degrees around looked like dusk.  We stared and stared, soaking it all in, knowing that time was short, and, sure enough, at the very instant the moon was no longer perfectly aligned with the Sun, its light burst out suddenly and we all had to turn away to avoid eye damage.

The Sun, or the Light of the World is a symbol for a very important figure in the plan of salvation.  Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, and, much like the Sun, his power and influence can drive out all darkness.  Even when the encroaching darkness obscures 99.9 percent of His light, it can still penetrate the earth in a way that is blinding to behold.  The world can sometimes feel like a dark place.  Contention, pain, suffering, hate, fear, confusion and sadness are very real to the human experience and can inch into our lives so slowly we may not even notice how much “light” they obscure.  How grateful I am to know that light will always drive out the darkness.  Our Savior Jesus Christ is the source of all light, and as we look to Him, pain is eased, burdens are lifted, and confusion is dispelled.  Instead we find hope, and truth and peace.