Total Eclipse of my Trust

Lectio Divina Out Loud: Erika Dix finds trust while encountering traffic, weather, and 50,000 people.

Many are the sorrows of the wicked one, but mercy surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD. (Psalm 32:10)

My family and I were blessed to go to Indianapolis for the total solar eclipse last week. We joined around 50,000 people at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to enjoy this possibly once in a lifetime opportunity. My son, who is a big science geek, had been asking for months about going to a place where there was going to be complete totality, and I happened upon this affordable way for us to view it. It seemed like a good deal, so we bought the tickets, and the countdown began!

As the event got closer, the news stories started increasing about how so many people wanted to experience this phenomenon and the predicted amount of traffic that would be happening. We live in the suburbs of Chicago, and Indianapolis is more than three hours away from us. When I first bought the tickets, we thought we could make a day trip out of it. That started to look unlikely as the news stories kept building the hype and predictions of people on the road. This is when my fear started increasing as well as the traffic. I started to realize that I would need to lean on God more than I had thought.

Recently a loved one was going through a really tough time, and I felt powerless to help him. This Scripture verse came up as I was praying my feelings out to God. I felt surrounded by God’s loving arms as I meditated on the beautiful mercy of the one who trusts in God. My loved one has made it through his really tough time, and I see him in a much safer and healthier place now. We both have talked about how much God had carried him through the toughest parts, and I see how his trust in God has increased. It was a great Scripture passage and example to carry me through to my tough time of trying to predict how the eclipse event would play out for us.

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I needed to trust. And there was a lot of trust needed: trust that traffic would not make us late, trust that the weather would work out so we would see the totality of the eclipse, and trust that we would be safe with the amount of people at the Speedway and on the roads. I started to gather my supplies. I brought road games and had each family member bring with them activities they could do while sitting in traffic (screens and no screens). I gathered lots of snacks and food so we could have provisions both in the car and at the Speedway. I found a hotel on our route that was still a couple of hours away, but at least we did not have to get up too much before the sun rose to make it down there when the event opened. And I carried along God in my heart, praying with each step of the journey.

We made it to the Speedway without encountering any major traffic (and had a great parking spot in front of the entrance). The weather was beautiful at 70 degrees with light clouds in the sky. And from the stands, we had an amazing view of the most magnificent act of God I have yet to see in my lifetime. We were surrounded by people of like mind and attitude, and I was surrounded by my loving family.

I was brought to tears at the event and the acts of trust that brought me there. God was in every moment. This truly was a once in a lifetime event, but I know that God’s mercy and my trust in Him always surrounds me. I do not have to wait until the next eclipse to experience that. It is with me every day.

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