My husband and I have been AirBNB hosts for about five years. Last June, 2023, I received two reservations for both of our cabins within a week for the exact same dates (April 7-9, 2024). I thought to myself, “Well, this is strange. I wonder what’s going on around here.” Boy, was I right!
Both guests (one from Florida and one from Georgia) were coming to our little bit of heaven in East Texas to witness the Total Solar Eclipse. I don’t keep up with the skies or astronomy, so I don’t keep up with the sun, moon and stars. What I did learn is that an event of this magnitude won’t happen again where I live until the year 2317 (and I most definitely won’t be around for that one).
As April 8 approached, details of what to expect were all over the news. We had our eclipse glasses, even stylish eclipse t-shirts, then hunkered outside for the moon to start its passage between the earth and the sun. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but what I saw was quite something. As I looked to the sky, I couldn’t help thinking about scripture, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth.” I realize there are many who don’t believe in a creator and believe our universe was created by a “big bang.” From what I observed from the eclipse, my faith was strengthened. I began singing “The Majesty and Glory of Your Name,” because the experience truly was majestic.
The April 8 eclipse reminded me of both God’s omnipotence and my frailty. He created the sun and the moon (Psalms 148:3, 5); we didn’t. He rules the universe (Isaiah 40:22); we don’t. From the storms that surround our world, we are reminded constantly of our human fragile nature. We can’t even look at the sun during an eclipse without protective glasses for our eyes.
I read an article by Jim Denison about a woman who has seen many solar eclipses. Leticia Ferrer has been chasing after solar eclipses around the world for several decades. She’s seen twenty in total and everyone since 1998. But she’ll never forget her first one in 1991: “It made me feel the majesty of the universe,” she said. Her experiences have shown her the immensity of the universe but also her personal finiteness. She says of her eclipse viewing: “I’m the most blessed person in the world, but yet I’m a minuscule little ant.”
Untold millions physically observed the April 8 total eclipse of the sun and countless billions around the world observed it as well over social media. I know they saw the sun, but did they see the Son in all of it?
Debby Efurd is co-founder of Cary John Efurd Ministries of Pittsburg, TX. She has been a contributor to Bound for Life and written numerous articles published in LifeNews, Christian Post and the Baptist Standard, and is the author of Go Tell It! Debby can be contacted at caryjohnefurdministries@gmail.com.
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