Doctor -- Please Give Me the Good News First!!!

Yesterday millions of people witnessed the solar eclipse in some way. While I have a great appreciation for the wonders in the skies and on the earth, I'll admit I didn't get carried away with it all until I was at my car dealership for an oil change and the service guys were outside with their welder's mask and they were getting the view of the eclipse perfectly. My service rep called me over to take a look, and indeed it was a sight to behold. I was able to enjoy those moments because I was prompted to get my oil changed and I requested 1 pm. I wasn't even thinking about the eclipse to be honest with you. That was a special little favor from God.

But this little favor from God turned out to be a big favor because after the oil change, tires rotated, multi-point inspection and state inspection done, my service rep came and said "Miss Donna, I've got some bad news. Your front timing cover needs to be replaced which means the engine has to come out and it will be 19 hours of labor at $145/hour totaling $2755." I know my eyes must have become like saucers and he quickly said "But you've got another 1000 miles on your extended warranty so it will only be $50 for the deductible." Whew -- I breathed a sign of great relief. I told him, "Man -- next time, please start with the good news first!" And then I went on to tell him about one of my husband's highly critical surgeries -- it was touch and go as to whether he would survive it. When the surgery was completed after six hours, our neurologist came to the waiting room. He looked spent. I had already made up my mind that if my sweetheart went to heaven during the surgery, I would declare God's faithfulness and based on how the doctor looked, I was bracing myself for the news. The first words out of his mouth were "I'm so sorry that we were unable to get all of the tumor because he had such significant blood loss." I stopped him in almost mid sentence and said, "Doc, first, I need to know, is he alive or not?" To which, he replied, "Oh yes, he's alive and doing well!" Whew -- another sign of relief. I also schooled the doc that day about giving good news first.

My sweetheart underwent needed surgery and my car is going through needed surgery. The sun shined brightly and then, in some places -- it went dark. But the good news was, the sun never stopped shining -- it just appeared to go dark because the moon perfectly aligned between the sun and earth. How's that for our Creator's indescribable brilliance? My Sweetheart was still alive UNTIL our Creator deemed it was his appointed time to leave this planet, and my car will be repaired because of the foresight to buy an extended warranty just in case of potential repairs needed one day.

Everything about this post has to do with our awesome Creator -- He who knows EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING. There are times when something gets in the way and we struggle to see the light of Christ that we know is always there. During those times, it can be easy to be fooled into reacting to the darkness of our circumstances. Our faith calls us to live differently, beyond our senses.

Even during the darkest times, we know by faith that God puts a path before us and calls us to follow. Let's remember to act not only on what we experience with our senses, but at all times and in all circumstances to live by faith. Because He knows our todays -- the dark shadows that may come and the bright sunlight that drives out the darkness -- we can know every day the sun (The Son) is always shining brightly and our Creator has something special up His sovereign sleeves.....so let's just keep our "Son" glasses on and keep our eyes on He Who destroys the darkness.

"The Heavens Declare the Glory of God, and the Sky Above Proclaims His Handiwork" Psalm 19:1

Tuesday night (August 8th), Denise and I were playing Pickleball at the outdoor courts here in my community. The Texas heat means that we want to only play early morning or late evenings. While the wind is a factor for outdoor play, it also opens up the opportunities to be amazed at God's heavenly handiwork.

We noticed, to the East, the most beautiful orange/red moon just coming up behind the homes, pictured here. This photo doesn't do it justice. We remembered hearing about the solar eclipse that is happening August 21st. Suposedly it will be a huge astronomical event, with amazing visibility. When we googled this moon, however, we didn't find anything But this brilliant, scientific mind and zeal to know more (LOL!), checked it out the next day and I found it was Lunar Eclipse, not a Solar Eclipse. The 2nd photo here was taken in Spain.

So, what is a lunar eclipse? A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes BEHIND the Earth and into its shadow. The Moon doesn't have its own light source; it is reflecting light from the Sun onto the Earth. So when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all aligned, it means the Moon will pass into the shadow of the Earth. A lunar eclipse only happens during a full moon. A total lunar eclipse is often referred to as a blood moon. A solar eclipse is just the opposite. It occurs when the Moon passes BETWEEN the Sun and the Earth. A solar eclipse is also a lot shorter than a lunar eclipse and limited to a smaller viewing area of the world. You're welcome. I'm pleased to give a little scientific reporting to you, my FB friends. LOL!

But, Denise and I wondered (before I found out the next morning) why that orange/red moon Tuesday night, as we never heard about it. We, both, are in tune with what the Bible says about the moon being turned into blood in Joel 2:31, "The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes." And it also appears in the Book of Revelation 6:12 "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood". So, along with the awe of the few minutes we had to look at this "heavenly sight", we both were saying "Come, Lord Jesus! We are ready to go! Take us up to be with You!" After all, Titus 2:12-13 says that the grace of God teaches us “to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the BLESSED HOPE — the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” This night raised our awareness of that blessed hope we have as believers.

You might be thinking "Silly, delirious girls! You must be overheated by the Texas sun!" That's okay. I get it. But, for these two girls, we believe that just as Jesus came to this earth the first time as a baby, we also believe He's going to make a sonic boom re-entry in His Second Coming, because He said He would, "I will come again" John 14:3.

Max Lucado puts it this way. "As Christ came, He will come. But He won’t come as He came. He came quietly in Bethlehem. He will return in glory with a shout. “All who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out” (John 5:28). In Bethlehem, the just-born Jesus slept. Upon his return, “The Lord will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet call of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). At the first coming, few people noticed. At His second, “All the nations of the world will be gathered before Him” (Matthew 25:32). In Bethlehem, Joseph placed Jesus in a manger. At his return, Jesus will be seated on a throne: “The Son of Man will come in great glory, with all his angels. He will be King and sit on His great throne” (Matthew 25:31). WOW, thanks, Max, for that awe-inspiring message on Christ's coming.

So, knowing all that -- why should we worry or fret about what today or tomorrow might bring on this earth? It just makes sense to be concerned when we live in a world of wars and conflict and where God is mocked and shunned. Aw! But not so for those of us who are devoted followers of Christ. We have nothing to fear or dread because as St. Peter said in 2 Peter 3:13 “What will happen next, and what we hope for, is what God promised: a new heaven and a new earth where justice reigns." So, go ahead, Lord, and perform Your wonders in the heavens and the earth and then, please come and get us!

Three times St. John recorded in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation 22:20, Christ's wonderful promise: “I am coming quickly”. With St. John, and all Christians, we respond with deep yearning: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” In the meantime, we will be determined to be faithful, vigilant, hope-filled, devoted followers of Christ and continue to look up to the heavens at God's incredible handiwork.