Like most of us I was inspired this week by the images of the solar eclipse. Seattle hardly caught a glimmer of the glory that those who were in the path of the total eclipse experienced. However many of us lived it out vicariously through the numerous photos and descriptions posted by our friends. It was a truly glorious event that inspired much writing of prose and poetry. Here is my contribution.
Awe begets awe. When the wonder of God's world Makes us pause and gasp, When tears roll down our faces For the beauty of it, Life ripples through our hearts And lodges in our souls. When unexpected delgiht Stops us in our tracks, Prompting us to laugh and sing, To hug strangers And bond together as community, It ripples through our world And makes us one. Let us rewinder the world. We are made Not to understand the unknowable God, But to enter the mystery, To see and share glory, To enjoy the everlasting, ever-present One, Forever.
Note: My Friday postings are usually for paid subscribers only, but because of this profound event that stirred my soul to write I decided to share it with all my subscribers. However I do encourage you to consider a paid subscription if you can afford it. This makes it possible for me to create more content and provide more resources for congregations and spiritual leaders on the Godspacelight.com website
You captured it so beautifully! THANK YOU!!
I got to be in Hot Springs, Arkansas in the path of totality with my mom and it was spectacular.
This is what I wrote after the event:
Today was magical in every way possible with the eclipse, and words or pictures cannot describe the wonder of it all. In my Monday morning meeting, we read Psalm 19:1 that was so perfect for the day: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." When the moon passed between the earth and the sun around 1:50 pm Central Time in Hot Springs, I was so surprised by what I saw as a bright ring appeared, and it moved me to tears. I read about this phenomenon later this afternoon: "In the final seconds before the moon completely covers the Sun, there is a last bright flash, combined with an emerging view of the corona—the Sun's upper atmosphere—encircling the moon. This produces a spectacular effect called the diamond ring." (https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/what-to-see-during-eclipse)
This is from Ted Loder from his wonderful book Guerillas of Grace and it also helps to put words to what we experienced.
"Listen to my blinking eyes,
for at certain moments
when sunlight strikes just right,
or stars pierce the darkness just enough,
or clouds roll around just so,
or snow kisses the world into quietness,
everything is suddenly transparent…
and something in me is pure enough
for an instant
to see your kingdom in a glance,
and so to praise you in a gasp —
quick,
then gone,
but it is enough."
-Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace
Oops I just noticed I missed an auto correct rewinder should be rewonder