J.E. Solinski
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • About
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • My Favs!

Total Eclipse of the Sun . . .

9/9/2017

2 Comments

 
Picture
See that picture there on the left? Just for the record, that’s not what I saw. I was in the only part of the United States totality zone (Kansas) that was under cloud cover—make that rain.

Okay, let’s make one more thing clear. I did not drive all the way to Kansas from California just to be in a totality area. There were places in Oregon I could have gone.  But I was already in Iowa so the three hour drive down to Atchison, Kansas, offered me two wonderful experiences: to see the total solar eclipse and to spend time with some of my Kansas cousins whom I rarely have the opportunity to see.

That Monday wasn’t promising to begin with. I left Des Moines in a thunderstorm. But by the time I crossed the Missouri border, the clouds were clearing—or maybe just moving—to Kansas. I found the park where everyone was to meet an hour before TE-time and parked. I heard thunder and stayed in my car. Four people were sitting out in lawn chairs under this huge tree. They didn’t move. I marveled at their bravery. Maybe native Kansans knew something this Californian didn’t. Then the rain started, and I rolled up my windows. The four Kansans stayed put. I wondered at their stupidity.

Then the rain and thunder stopped and my cousins, a few members of their church, and my brother and sister-in-law (who had driven from Colorado) arrived, and began doing what everyone in the Midwest does at major events. They set up the picnic lunch. We checked our watches, consulted the Weather Channel App, and determined that there was still time for the clouds to move on––or at least part––so that we could see the totality.

Then the rains came––twice––and we ran to the shelter of the cars. (The previous four had left completely by this time.) We prayed for the clouds to part just in time for us to see totality. But they didn’t. Though the rain had stopped and we could catch glimpses of the sun through the clouds, we didn’t need our special glasses, and I could also see the disappointment on my brother’s face. (He is a science guy and this was big stuff.) But even with the cloud cover, the air grew still, the birds stopped singing, and the darkness enveloped us. We, too, could see the glow of the 360 horizon. It was eerie and surreal.

Almost immediately after the totality, the clouds began to move out of the way, and we pulled out our glasses and watched the waning of the eclipse, and wondered about God’s timing. Why didn’t He move the clouds just a few minutes sooner? This seemed like kind of a cruel joke.

But then something unexpected happened. Even though we didn’t see the sun’s corona or Baily’s beads or the diamond ring effect, we found ourselves talking about how neat our experience was and how different it was from anyone else in the entire US. It was something unique that only we (and the others in this part of Kansas) experienced, and so now we saw our experience as special––and something we could laugh about for years to come.

Yes, sometimes we wonder about God’s timing, how it might prevent us from having those experiences everyone else gets to have. But if we don’t continue our pity party and instead look at the experience He has allowed us to participate in and enjoy, we might find that it is unique and perhaps in some ways even better.

As for me and my total eclipse experience?

Fortunately this “once in a lifetime” experience will happen again April 8, 2024 only I will have to drive a bit further—or not.

2 Comments
Linda C
9/9/2017 05:33:41 pm

You were making lemonade out of lemons. This was a very cute, funny blog!

Reply
Jody
9/9/2017 10:11:18 pm

😊

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Jody Eileen Solinski spent her career teaching in the California public school system where she enjoyed helping young adults take their place in society. A native Californian, she enjoys the outdoors and so loves living in Northern California where she can enjoy the beauty of God’s creation up close.

    Picture
    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All
    Anger
    Appreciation
    Art
    Attitude
    Beauty
    Belief
    Books
    Bravery
    Calm
    Change
    Christian Bloggers
    Christian Living
    Christmas
    Cleansing
    Conflict
    Consistency
    Coronavirus
    Costs
    Demands
    Disappointment
    Discontent
    End Times
    Evil
    Faith
    Fatigue
    Fear
    Fires
    Focus
    Foolishness
    Forgiveness
    Frustration
    God's Protection
    God's Sovereignty
    God's Timing
    Good Intentions
    Grace
    Grief
    Healing
    Hell
    Holy Spirit
    Hopes
    Hymns
    Hypocrisy
    Ingenuity
    Isolation
    Jesus
    Legacies
    Listening
    Love
    Memories
    Money
    Mornings
    Mothers
    Music
    New Years
    Opportunities
    Order
    Pain
    Patience
    Peace
    Perfection
    Perseverance
    Perspective
    Prayer
    Pressure
    Promises
    Purpose
    Readiness
    Reading
    Reduction
    Refreshed
    Relationship
    Relief
    Remembering
    Renewed
    Reset
    Rest
    Sacrifice
    Science
    Seeing
    Self-Centeredness
    Service
    Sin
    Sleep
    Spiritual Diet
    Spiritual Life
    Storms
    Strength
    Suffering
    Summer
    Talents
    Temptation
    Thanksgiving
    The Bible
    The Tongue
    Troubles
    Trust
    Truth
    Unity
    Water
    Weaknesses
    Wise Counsel
    Worry
    Writing
    Youth

J.E. Solinski ©2015