The Great American Eclipse 2017

The Great American Eclipse has been anticipated all over Southeastern Idaho for quite some time. I was really excited for it.  Excited to see if all those people experts thought were coming would show up.  Excited to see if the eclipse was as amazing as everyone kept talking about. I was also excited to spend time with family and friends.  Would totality live up to all the hype?

It was pretty calm all weekend and the morning of the freeway got pretty busy and afterward it was crazy busy until Wednesday.  Many people showed up and they estimated about 300,000 people did come to see it.  The Eclipse definitely lived up to all of the hype after totality hit.  Epic is probably the best word to describe it.  I was amazed at its beauty.

Here are some highlights:

veggin on the roof waiting

We were on the roof at the warehouse on this weird thing.

Check out the shadows.  They look like crescents just before and after 

Look at that short shadow of Myles

That's not a blurry pic.  The shadows got really weird.

This is a funny one of Conrad

Bo and Jake

Caleb

Shane and Bonny

Gini and Dan

Carley with Bonny's new baby Maggie

Brayden

Eriksen and Conrad 

Just a fun pic from the weekend. Walking down Main Street to go to Caramel Tree

Myles was so nice to share the amazing photos that he took of the eclipse:

This is all in backwards order and it will take way too long to switch every photo so enjoy it in reverse:

Unless someone had a nice big lens to take pictures they couldn't see the eclipse in pictures.  The picture just below was taken with a normal lens at or near totality.  If you click on it and look at it larger you can see a small black dot.  But the rays put off of the sun were so bright an average lens couldn't see what was happening.

While all of this was going on I couldn't help but compare the light of the sun to the darkness that was being cast over us.  It didn't matter how much of the sun was covered there was still too much light to look at.  It made me think about this life. The world is filled with so much light, so much good.  The darkness is just a small portion that can be overpowered if we seek to live wholesome lives and the goodness this world has to offer.

As I looked through the eclipse glasses the only thing I could see was the sun and as the moon crept over it the sun got smaller.  The thing I found most interesting about the totality of the eclipse was just before the sun was totally covered I could see only a small sliver of light.  But, as the sun was totally covered I couldn't see anything until my glasses were removed.  When I took them off a beautiful ring of light formed around the darkness and there's no way to describe the beauty that surrounded us, I wished it could last for much longer.  As totality passed and the sun wasn't covered anymore, I though to myself that I never wanted to forget that sight and the feelings I felt.  It was all indescribable.

As I compare that to life I think about the times I've been tried and tested. At times life has felt dark, it's been hard. But, the knowledge that I have the Savior with me gives me a sliver of hope to keep going, keep striving to do my best.

The interesting thing is that in my most humble moments as my faith has been tested the most and I've felt completely in the dark, I've asked where my Savior was. My eyes were opened a little bit more and the spirit helped me see a bit better.  That's when the light seemed spill out behind all the darkness and I knew He was there.  It brought beautiful peace and testimony that He is always there.
 
As hard as it is when we feel completely overcome with the hardships we face, that's when our testimonies grow the most.  There is a God watching over us at all times. Sometimes, he just wants us to stretch and become the person he knows we can become.  When the trial is over and daily life sets back in, I think to myself that I never want to forget the feelings and insights I've been blessed to receive. I need to remember the good that came from those hard times. 

I'm grateful for moments like these that testify of more than a "Big Bang Theory".  Things like this don't happen by chance.  There's just too much that has to be perfect.  For all of this to happen the size of the moon and its shadow, the timing, different distances between everything, and many more things I don't know or understand have to be just right.  It all testifies that there is a God and He created all things. And all things testify of Him and His power.