We got to the beach, one of the perks of living in Florida, around 8pm. I haven't actually been on the beach in the dark. I was shocked how scary and violent my normal place of peace and tranquility was. The wind was strong, so the waves were pretty big. The tide was also high and probably the closest to the shore I had ever seen them.
We have had a run of cloudy, wet weather here, I'm not sure Sunshine State is a good logo for Florida anymore!!! Anyhow the clouds were so thick and black that you couldn't see the huge super moon. So the already scary scene on the beach was amplified by darkness.
It's kind of a good imagine of how my life feels right now. It used to be a scene of peace and rest but now it's turbulent and scary.
So we waited. The full eclipse time was 10:37pm. We watched the darkness for a sign, a glimpse of the familiar bright circle and every now and then we would catch a glimpse.
My friend's phone said at 10pm the clouds would clear. So hope was found and a renewed endurance to wait out the clouds. But at 10pm the clouds had obviously not got the memo that they were supposed to leave the party. At that point hope of seeing this lunar display were fast disappearing and thoughts of a comfortable bed took hold.
That was the when someone said "Is that a star?"
It was. All of a sudden pockets of clear sky were appearing, with the exception of the part of the sky the moon was in. We watched the direction of the moving clouds and looked to see if a break was coming. We felt so close to seeing what we knew was behind the clouds.
Then my friend said "maybe God is going for a big reveal?"
Well guess what happened right at 10:30pm? The clouds rolled back like a curtain and there before us was a perfect super moon in full eclipse. And for 20 minutes we sat watching this perfectly cloudless sky with this amazing display.
As we drove home I said to my husband that I felt God was trying to tell us something. He felt the same thing.
Right now in my life I'm sitting on dark beach that is really scary. Normally the scene before me or 'normal life' is a peaceful place but with the darkness and wind and waves crashing it's become scary. The sky is so dark from storm clouds that seeing is hard. But when I ask God what to do I get one reply over and over and over again.
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD!
Be still in this dark place.
Be still even though the sound of the waves is scary.
Be still watching for something you can't see.
Be still and wait...
Because right behind that cloud God is painting a masterpiece that is so beautiful it will take your breathe away. My 5 year old said "We can't see the moon because God hasn't finished painting it red." He doesn't want me to see the answer until it is perfected. Until it is complete. That's when the dark clouds will roll away and He will reveal His miraculous masterpiece. And the whole time all I have to do is sit still and look up and watch and wait.
God really has shown me this week what trusting Him means. I am a planner and a dreamer so an uncertain tomorrow is not easy for people wired like me. I was having one of my 'questioning conversations' with God this week and this scripture was His reply -
My ways are not His ways, that has become very clear to me. But His ways are perfect. All I have to do is be still and trust Him.
It sounds simple but like Sunday night on the beach we get disheartened and tired. The weather radar on my phone doesn't give me much hope. The graphic of where there best chances are to see it show our area as virtually impossible. You start receiving text messages with people sending their pictures of it which just frustrate you more because why are they seeing the answer and we aren't. So many humanly, fleshly excuses can cloud our judgement.
If we had left at 10 we would have missed the event by mere minutes! How many prayers go unanswered because we give up just before it is answered?
Just like at the beach, even though I couldn't see it unfolding, behind the curtain of clouds the moon was still there. In life so many times we are clouded by the deception of the enemy. All the time right on front of us the answer is there.
So I will sit still Lord.
I will wait.
Will you pull up a beach chair beside me and keep me company? When it's time for God's big reveal of His miraculous display we will have front row seats!!!! I also believe that's when we will fully understand what He has been doing all along!
I will wait.
Will you pull up a beach chair beside me and keep me company? When it's time for God's big reveal of His miraculous display we will have front row seats!!!! I also believe that's when we will fully understand what He has been doing all along!
God bless!
