Martha Olawale

“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2:14

Having my home state witness the awe and wonder of the recent total eclipse is a privilege that will remain with my family and me forever. It’s one of those events you hear such big buzz about, and you think it can’t be worth it, and then you are blown away by the gravity of amazement you experience. It’s worth more than every T-shirt, banner, and gadget made to celebrate it. As much as I hate traveling, I will travel a thousand minutes to witness one minute of it again. It was amazing!

When we packed the picnic bag and left for the park, we thought sitting outside for two hours, watching the gradual covering of the sun by a dark circle, would bore us fast. However, as soon as I looked up, I didn’t want to look back down because my soul was captivated by the wonder of the heavens. It was beyond my expectations and kept my heart transfixed. Even the kids were mesmerized by how closely we participated in the majesty of God. How anyone can see that and not salute the greatness of God is sad.

Looking up to see the eclipse sent my mind running, and the wonders beyond this one event gripped me. How can you not see the finger of God in this? We’ve become so oblivion to our spirituality that while we need specialized glasses to see the eclipse, there are different phenomena around us that we ignore.

Below the about ninety-three-million-mile distance of the sun, the glory of God speaks daily, but because we sleep and wake up to them, we’ve lost the awe to stop and look. God’s love and creativity speak through every living thing, great or small, through the sky and great waters. Millions of stars light the sky at night, and the vastness of the sea holds whales and creatures beyond our imagination. We breathe in the air we can’t see and witness the dawn and breaking of each day, yet those have become nominal instead of phenomenal.

I am grateful for the privilege of having stood still with millions of people worldwide as we looked to the sky to see God’s glory through the eclipse. At least, it made us all look up and remember that God can still dazzle us in wonder. However, beyond that, my heart is renewed to see the immaculate craftsmanship of His work in things I’ve become so accustomed to and take for granted as an entitlement.

As the heavens declare His glory (Psalm 19:1), I bow my soul in honor of my creator and proclaim His splendor above all I can see, feel, and touch. I don’t have to wait another twenty years or travel through space to remember who God is and the extent of His love for humanity because the evidence is all around me. Jehovah is majesty personified, and a billion eclipses cannot compare to His glory. A simple beat of my heart reminds me of Him, and the bloom of the roses births a fire in my soul to worship Him.