On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse made its way across the United States. The path of totality happened to include my childhood home in Central Indiana.
So my wife, children, and I made the trek back there to enjoy the spectacle. We sat with my grandparents in their driveway and watched (with appropriate eye protection) as the moon slowly and smoothly began to cover up the sun.
Subtly and almost imperceptibly, the scenery around us began to change. The daylight took on an unusual, somewhat eerie tint. The shape of shadows were altered. If you didn’t know that an eclipse was happening, you would probably notice that things seemed a bit “off,” even if you could not fully explain why.
The sky continued to dim as the minutes passed. The sun became a crescent, and then a sliver—still much too bright to look at, even as the ground below took on the tint of a late-evening twilight.
Then, it happened. In an instant, the moon overpowered the last remnant of the light of the sun. The two cosmic circles merged into . . . something else. No longer were they two great lights illuminating the night and the day, but they were transformed into one mesmerizing, majestic, and glorious work of beauty.
For four all-too-short minutes, my family was able to soak in this enchanting display of glory. Three generations, five months old to eighty-five, stared up at the sky with shared wonder as our minds and hearts tried to grasp what we were looking at. It did not seem real. Above us, it was the middle of the night in the middle of the afternoon. All around us, the sun seemed to be setting, or rising, over every horizon. During those few moments, we were transported to a fantastic world where anything seemed possible.
Then, in another flash, we were returned to our home world. The sun began to break free from the moon’s bonds and its light flooded over the earth again, and it soon looked like just another Monday afternoon. But the smiles on all of our faces bore witness to the fact that we had all experienced something that we would never forget. Like the Pevensies returning from Narnia, we now shared the bond of having traveled on a mystical journey together.
That might all sound a bit overly dramatic—unless you have been to Narnia yourself. Photos of a total eclipse do not come anywhere near to capturing the glory of the event. And observing a partial eclipse through dark-tinted glasses, while fascinating enough, does not come close to the profound wonder of those precious seconds of totality. It is seeing Narnia from the outside of the wardrobe, but not stepping in.
Wonder forces us to take a pause from the demands of daily existence. Wonder gives us a glimpse into the glory beyond the curse. And wonder stirs the soul to worship. Share on XAnd wonder really is the right word. We often associate the term with children, whose imaginations have not been dulled by the burdens and duties of life, and whose minds are not too busy or worried or distracted to notice the amazing things all around them. But wonder was never meant to have an age limit. If anything, as we grow we should find many more opportunities and reasons to wonder. The vastness of the ocean. The view from the top of a mountain. Endless stars on a cloudless night. The northern lights. The first glimpse of your bride on your wedding day. A newborn baby in your arms. Along with a thousand other wonders around us every day, if we would look around and notice.
Wonder forces us to take a pause from the demands of daily existence. Wonder gives us a glimpse into the glory beyond the curse. And wonder stirs the soul to worship. The psalmist Asaph wrote, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples” (Psalm 77:11-14).
The Lord’s creation is teeming with reasons to wonder, on the earth below and in the cosmos above. Share on XThe Lord’s creation is teeming with reasons to wonder, on the earth below and in the cosmos above. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). A total eclipse is the product of extreme precision and timing. The fact that the moon is exactly the right size in the sky to pass over the circle of the sun and perfectly align to create the incredible effects we witnessed is a marvel in itself. Without presuming to know the ways and mind of God, it seems that the entire purpose of such an alignment is to show His glory and spark our wonder and awe.
Another psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite, proclaimed, “Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?” (Psalm 89:5-7).
Our God is a God who creates wonders and is Himself wonderful. Share on XOur God is a God who creates wonders and is Himself wonderful. And He calls us to open our hearts to Him with the faith and wonder of a child. Jesus said that “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2). The greatest wonder of all is that He would love rebellious people enough to send His Son to pay for their sins and invite them to live eternally in His presence.
Stand in awe of who God is. Stand in amazement at all that He has made. Fall to your knees in worship for the mercy and grace He offers. And if you ever get the chance to witness a total eclipse, please do so. Be prepared to wonder.
As a personal addendum, our journey to see the eclipse was remarkable in a number of ways, in addition to the glorious event we got to witness. For starters, it was amazing to me that my childhood home was directly in the center of the path of the eclipse. That alone was enough to motivate us to make the trip. But we knew it would be a profound gift from God to be able to travel, as we were making tentative plans amidst the hardest season of our lives. Only five months earlier, my wife had given birth to our son after a life-threatening pregnancy. Only three months earlier, she had endured a major surgery, with subsequent hospital visits for related complications. Only two months earlier, my mother had gone to be with the Lord. And, though I did not know it at the time, observing the eclipse would be the last chance I would have to spend with my dear grandfather.
With the influx of people coming to see the eclipse, getting to Indiana was a challenge as well. But somehow we found plane tickets at a reasonable price. And after spending days trying to find an available hotel or Airbnb, we happened to find a charming little farmhouse on the Airbnb site that was only a few minutes from my grandparents’ house, and ended up being owned by a long-time friend of my mom’s. (And there is more to that story that testifies to the Lord’s grace!) And as a further reminder of God’s great grace, the trip also coincided with the tenth anniversary of wedding my wonderful wife.
The days leading up to the eclipse were cold, wet days in Indiana, and we were prepared for the very real possibility that the majestic display I have tried to describe would be completely hidden from our view. We sought to trust the Lord if that happened, but on April 8, we woke up to a bright and beautiful morning. The clouds stayed away, and the Lord gave us the chance to marvel at His glory in creation.
The next three days it rained—we didn’t see the sun again until we were back in Florida.
Truly, He is “the God who works wonders.”
