Around three am last night I couldn’t sleep. So I did what I often do in the case of sleeplessness. I got up, heated some milk, toasted a slice of bread, and went outside on the deck. We are fortunate to live in an area where city lights do not interfere with viewing the stars in the night sky and there was no moon. The contrast of the diminutive spark-like dots and the vast expanse of darkness where they existed, never ceased to amaze me.
This morning I looked up the readings for today and also saw it is the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lord when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Mary and announced that she would conceive and bear a child. She asked how could that be possible for she was a virgin. The angel replied that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the child she would bear would be the Son of God. And furthermore, the angel added Mary’s elderly cousin Elizabeth had conceived and was in her sixth month carrying a son.
Finally, Gabriel answered Mary’s question : “For with God nothing will be impossible.” And she said, “…be it to me according to thy word.” Did this teenage girl in her own reasoning understand how it could be possible physically? Of course not; but she did believe the ‘possibility of the impossible’ with God.
Today we’ll experience a few minutes of darkness as the path of the moon obstructs the light of the sun. Two days ago we felt the movement of the earth beneath us as a 4.8 earthquake took place. Like the stars above in the night sky, the quake reminded us of how minute we are in relation to the Creator.
How did I feel when the house shook and a strange rumble accompanied the movement? It was a feeling of peace because I knew this was beyond my control but somehow I trusted in the One who was shaking us up and revealing His power. Thankfully no devastation took place.
DJ Pasternak, Author 