Cookie and Seve are 11 and 19 pounds of pure, spoiled rotten canine. Seve is ten years old and just about as chill as they come. Cookie is a four-year-old with a major crazy streak. They both sleep when and where they want. They eat dog food, but only after holding out for people food doesn’t pan out. Cookie is the spokesdog for the pair, letting us know with her most annoying bark when she feels like they’d like to be fed or when they deserve a snack. They tolerate us living in “their” house and begrudgingly allow guests inside. They’re very disagreeable with other dogs.

Cookie is so highly offended by other dogs that I’m forced to take her and Seve for their daily walk at 5:30 a.m. – when no one else in their right mind might be walking their dogs. As inconvenient as this is, I’ve discovered a blessing in disguise. I get to watch the morning sky come to life as the sun rises.

My favorite walks are when the full moon lingers and slowly slides beneath the horizon as daybreak eases in. I love watching the last of the stars retreat until God beckons them out again at dusk. I love the random cloud formations, and I love the clear blue just as much.

I’m not just enamored by the morning sky, though. When the sun’s glorious farewell sunset has blazed its colorful goodbye and the stars begin to peek out from behind nightfall’s curtain, I find myself staring up in awe. Opportunities to visit places free of light pollution give me the chance to keep the Milky Way and its Creator company in the middle of the night. Solitude, moonlight, and a few million stars…doesn’t get much better than that.

But in all my years, I’ve never experienced anything like I – and maybe you, too – experienced on April 8, 2024.

Standing in the middle of a wide open parking lot with a dear friend, we geeked out with our cardboard protective eyewear and watched the afternoon sky slowly darken. And we weren’t alone! Employees and patrons of the surrounding businesses slowly trickled outside, all gazing upward. The wind began to pick up, and the streetlights began to come on. And eventually – totality! We removed our safety glasses for an unfiltered view of the sun’s rays beaming all around the moon. It. Was. Spectacular!

My mind immediately went to Psalm 19:1 – “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” But all that came out of my mouth was, “WOW!” – over and over again! I briefly looked around the parking lot at all who had gathered to witness this celestial phenomenon and couldn’t help but think of another Day coming when all eyes will be staring at the heavens.

After Jesus’ resurrection, He spent 40 days with His disciples, speaking to them about the kingdom of God. He appeared to over 500 men (1 Corinthians 15:6) and gave many convincing proofs that He was indeed alive. He gave His last instructions, and the time came for Him to return to the Father. Acts 1:9-11 describes the scene.

“After He had said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, Who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.’”

Believers in Jesus have been “looking intently up into the sky” ever since, waiting for our Lord to return.

And return He will! Matthew 24:36 says that only the Father knows the precise date and time, but make no mistake – that Day is on His calendar! “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) Our King will finally call us to join Him, and all of our longings and questions will pass away in the light of His face. “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

The total eclipse last April was “WOW!”, but I’m holding out for an even greater display of God’s glory. Starting just about every morning at 5:30 a.m., I’ll be waiting and watching. And one of these days…