I’m in Cleveland, where those in the area will be able to witness the solar eclipse in its totality today.
Cleveland, though, boasts the following stat: it ranks in the top ten cloudiest cities in the United States. As such, viewing this once in a lifetime event in Cleveland stands as probable at best.
For those of us who have heard about how awe-inspiring this occurrence promises to be, we must decide whether or not we travel to sunnier spots along the path of totality or if we just stay put.
Personally, I really want to be where it happens.
As I’ve reflected on the possibility that no matter what I decide to do - should I stay or should I go now? - that I might not witness this event, I’ve thought about why I so badly want to see a total eclipse of the heart…er, sun.
I want to witness the wonderful grandeur and incredible order of God’s creation. I want to observe the mysterious workings of His immense universe.
But, do I need to be in a spot where the eclipse takes place to more fully believe in God?
Will it add to my faith to see with my own eyes the creative God winks that I have heard described and documented - snake shadows, pinhole projections, altered animal behavior, the change in temperature, seeing the craters of the moon, and other joys?
While it wouldn't hurt, I need to lean on the inspiration of my faith to be okay with whatever happens in a few hours.
Thomas wasn’t initially in the room where it happened. It’s not clear whether any of the other disciples asked for the same proof of Jesus’s Resurrection but Jesus reminds Thomas and us, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed" (John 20:29).
Only Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning. I wonder if the other disciples regretted not accompanying them on this task to see and hear for themselves the empty tomb and the angel's testimony that "He has been raised; he is not here" (Mark 16:6).
James didn’t accompany his running club mates of Peter and John on their sprint to see if the tomb really had been evacuated. Maybe James regretted his choice to skip this workout after discovering that he missed his chance to enter the vacant tomb and to see the burial clothes no longer serving their purpose (John 20:7).
In all of these cases, those that didn't see or hear or touch or encounter had to rely on their faith to believe. Those that weren't in the room to watch Christ heal the person who had been paralyzed walk for the first time, had to trust in the accounts of others that what they had seen and heard was as they described (Mark 2:3-11).
But, even those that aren't in the room where it happens still have exposure to the miraculous.
The Resurrection proved that Jesus eclipsed sin and death.
While those in the path of totality (including me) will anxiously await four minutes of darkness, my baptism gave me the light of faith in Jesus Christ, a light which no amount of darkness can or ever will overcome.
I can wonder and awe at the infinite fingerprints of God over all of His creation - from the beauty of a sunrise/sunset, to the intricacies of the heart, to the unknown ways in which the brain functions, to the aroma of flowers, to the exquisite taste of an orange, to the harmonies of a symphony, to the miraculous manifestation of God's love for me and my wife in the individuality of my three kids.
Each and every single day, God reveals to each of us His amazingness.
Therefore, if I have the eyes, and ears, and heart of faith, I am always where it happens.
