This post is part of my 10-Minute Tuesday series. I write for 10 minutes with no heavy editing on a 1-word prompt. Today’s word is “gaze.”
Sunday night was a super blood wolf moon, which, to my untrained self, meant January’s full moon (wolf), that was going to appear bigger and brighter because the moon was at its closest point to Earth during the month (super) and there would be a total eclipse making it look red (blood).
I think I got that right.
Anyway, my astronomy-loving son was home from college for the long weekend, and we were looking forward to watching it together, late though it would be on the East Coast. We also had my 1-year-old grandson with us, but he should be soundly sleeping at that hour.
Or so I thought.
Turns out, just when things were getting interesting with the eclipse, baby Zayne woke up crying. When this has happened in the past at this point in his sleep cycle, calming him and then putting him down to go back to sleep didn’t work. But I figured he should be picked up by his parents soon and would be on his way home before the totality of the eclipse occurred.
Again, or so I thought.
As I held Zayne and he slept in my arms, the clock kept up its unrelenting march across time, and I saw my opportunity to watch this rare phenomenon in person slip away.
And then I gazed at Zayne.
His breathing steady, his little breath ever so slightly whistling through his tiny nose. And I marveled. And I thanked God that I had this opportunity to be with Zayne. Eclipses and wolf moons and super moons would all come around again, but there would be only one Zayne. Only one January 20th, 2019, when I could hold him and rock him and let him sleep.
I ended up being able to see the moon just past totality as my eldest son came and picked up Zayne a little after midnight. So I stood in the front yard while my younger son pointed out some stars that he had been able to identify and we shivered as we gazed at that marvelous night sky with that bright, blood red moon.
And I rejoiced.
Yes, the glory of God can be seen when we gaze at the heavens, but He is right there when we gaze at the face of one made in His image.
Compelled 