Total Eclipse?

So, on Monday, there was a total eclipse over Texas, which meant it happened right over my backyard a little after 1 p.m., and I must admit I was unexpectedly blown away.  

You see, up until the actual eclipse, I was not a fan.  

Too many people were overly excited about the whole thing, and the hype was ridiculous.  I'm jaded, so when there's too much hype, I get suspicious, skeptical, and snarky.  

I didn't get why thousands of people would want to travel to see it—spending their hard-earned money to buy industrial-strength sunglasses, pay for flights, gas, and a hotel, and stand outside and stare at the sun. 

It was funny to me that the day would be mostly overcast. I even hummed Alanis Morisette's song "Ironic" with some new lyrics: 

"It's like an eeee--clipse on a cloudy day..."  

But my dad gifted us some of the aforementioned industrial-strength sunglasses, so I reluctantly joined in when the whole thing started happening.  

Even though the cloud cover was a hindrance, we got to glimpse the eclipse through all its stages, marveling at how even a sliver of the exposed sun could illuminate the sky. 

And then it got dark.  

The birds in my backyard fell silent. The nighttime spotlights came on, and for about three to four minutes, the shadows of night took over the day.  

Then a sliver of the sun peeked through the clouds, and night unceremoniously turned back into day.  It was an incredible display of nature, but it also resonated with me in a way I hadn't expected. 

After the eclipse, I thought about how that moment of darkness felt a lot like the moments in my life when darkness seemed to be winning. 

It can feel like the light has been eclipsed when we go through hard times.

Those moments of darkness can be disorienting and overwhelming, and I'm sad to admit that I've let the darkness take me more than once. But then again, many of us have.  

But all it takes is just a tiny sliver of hope to not only hold the darkness at bay but to dispel it altogether.  That's how I experienced the sliver of light on the back end of yesterday's eclipse—as hope. It only took a bit, and the darkness fled.  

So, if you are struggling today through some darkness, and it feels like the light has been eclipsed by whatever is weighing on you, just know that whatever tiny bit of hope you might have left is more than enough. 

The darkness doesn't get to win.  

May it be so, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.