So, the solar eclipse was yesterday morning. Hubby had mentioned it earlier in the week, but I had totally forgotten about it.
Shortly after 9am my son sent this photo. The solar eclipse was just beginning!
Right away I hurried to look out our window. I sent my son this photo in return … of the solar eclipse at our place.
I was so excited for my son! All was clear blue skies at his house … and he has a fancy schmancy phone to be able to take epic photos of the eclipse! I messaged my son that I couldn’t wait to watch the solar eclipse through his photos!
He sent another photo of the eclipse progressing.
I went back outside to take another photo of the solar eclipse from our place.
It suddenly occurred to me that where I was standing, I couldn’t see the solar eclipse anyway … since the sun was behind that tall tree. What if I moved over a few steps to the left?
So I walked the few steps over to the other side of the deck … pointed my sun up at the foggy sun and snapped a photo. I was absolutely shocked at what I saw on my phone!!
YAY me!! I could see the eclipse after all!! What a total surprise!!
I stood there in awe, marveling at the eclipse for a while … until I realized the sun was about to be blocked by the tree. Why don’t I get shoes on and go down in the wet grass to get a better view?
So that is what I did.
Here you can see the solar eclipse from my new vantage point.
My son messaged that clouds had moved in. Sadness.
Of all things! … the clouds had moved in just like that??? Right in the few minutes the eclipse was occurring???
I was so sad for my son! After all, he was the one who was smart enough to let me know the eclipse was happening in the first place. And now he couldn’t even see it. While I … who wasn’t supposed to be seeing it, because of the fog, was actually getting pretty good photos with my not-fancy phone.
It didn’t seem fair. It just didn’t seem fair at all.
I kept taking pictures of the eclipse and sending them to my son!
Until it was all done.
My son commented that my photos were so good because the fog dissipated the brightness enabling the camera to be able to focus in on the shapes better.
He was true. If the fog had not been in the way I honestly don’t think my phone would have been able to capture it very well.
Here you can see the eclipse from my daughter’s vantage point. Epic!
Here is the lesson God showed me in all of this.
Sometimes God asks us to do something. And we think: “God, I’m not qualified for that. That person over there can do it so much better than I can. See … they have clear blue skies. All I have is fog. And besides, they have the fancy schmancy camera.”
And God says: “Why don’t you look at the situation again? Why don’t you take a few steps over, and look at it from a different vantage point?”
So we do. And God says: “Ok … now what do you see?”
In astonishment we say: “No way! There’s no way I thought I could do that thing You were telling me to do! But check it out! I can see a way through to do what You were telling me to do all along!”
And the thing is … what we don’t realize in that moment, is that that other person whom we thought could do it so much better than us … … what we don’t realize is that “clouds” have moved in and “blocked their view.”
Yes … my son could have taken way more epic photos than me!
Why did God allow the clouds to move in and block his view?? I don’t know. But it happened.
In the same way, we wonder why does God allow “clouds” into other people’s lives which “block them”??
We will probably never know. All we know is that God told us to do a particular thing … and when we obey … and do that particular thing (that we thought we couldn’t do!) … as a result, we all get to enjoy the blessing of the outcome.
If we had not obeyed … the entire opportunity would have been missed.
But because we obeyed … God eclipsed our expectations!!
When God asks you to do something … obey! Even if you don’t think you can. Even if you don’t think you are “qualified.” Even if you don’t think you have what it takes.
Obey.
And watch in awe as God eclipses your expectations!
