I knew there was going to be a lunar eclipse that night. But I hadn't planned on staying up to watch it. When I found myself still awake at one o'clock in the morning, the time of the full eclipse, I decided to get up and take a look. Wrapped up warmly in a blanket, I went out on my deck on that cold November night and saw one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.
Just the bottom edge of the moon was visible, but what took my breath away was the vividness and number of visible stars. I saw constellations I hadn't thought about since my childhood, when my dad would point them out to me. The illumination from the stars alone cast a bright glow over my backyard. I didn't stay outside very long in that 30-degree weather, but the glow of inspiration stayed with me for a long time.
Just before getting out of bed that night, I had been feeling troubled over an article in that day's newspaper. It had to do with spiritual healing for children and the efforts of state legislatures to repeal provisions recognizing the right of parents to choose to rely on spiritual means instead of conventional medicine to heal their children. Would the world ever understand the healing power of God, who is ever-present Love? The lessons I learned that night healed my fear and helped me to deal with the question from the standpoint of prayer.
