A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy) with Earth between the other two, and only on the night of a full moon.

Syzygy • \SIZ-uh-jee\ • noun: the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (such as the sun, Moon, and Earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system.

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I crawled out of bed after maybe two hours of sleep, grabbed a blanket, and hurried out into the chilly early morn to watch the “Super Flower Blood Moon” Lunar Eclipse. The California sky was crystal clear, graciously granting front row seats to the ethereal display. The show had barely begun, but already the Moon shone big, bright, and beautiful.

As the shadow of our globe slowly crept across its surface, the Moon began to glow in haunting shades of red, pink, and orange, giving the stars a chance to shine just a little brighter. I sat in the Jetta under my blanket, watching this phenomenal act, and considered the new glow of my life, my soul, myself. Much of the past sixteen years has seemed so reckless and random, but as I begin a new season of life, working in a new career, living in a new state, I can see “syzygy” at play.

I had been so deeply discontented for so long that I was resigned to that fate. I reveled in the bursts of joy I was granted and fought to choose gratefulness when joy was impossible to find; that was enough. Not seeing a way to pull me from under the weighted melancholy, I decided to settle in and try to make the best of it – like putting shiny rims and a coat of fresh paint on a Ford Pinto. If I filled my space and time, I wouldn’t notice that I was functioning at a dangerously low level.

But no matter how hard I worked – and I’m a hardworking gal – everything seemed to slip through my fingers. Jobs, homes, relationships, comfort, dreams, I couldn’t hold on to anything even though I was grasping onto it all for dear life. At the time, it was all so devastating; in retrospect, I see how everything lined up “syzygynically” to get me here – the happiest and most fulfilled I’ve ever been!

There is a benefit of loss that I’d never been mature enough to recognize, and that is starting over. So busy falling apart over the losses that the refreshing wash of change and built-in opportunities of newness were completely lost on me. [For a self-proclaimed grateful person, I’m amazed by my short-sightedness and lack of appreciation.]

In less than two weeks, I’m moving across the country again. Leaving the best job I’ve ever had, a fantastic boss, great friends, and the ocean (that last one really hurts). My default would be to wallow in the unfairness of it all. It isn’t my fault that the Bay area is insanely expensive or that the salaries don’t match the cost of living – particularly in education. I could fall apart; I could feel like a failure, but I’ve decided to look for the syzygy.

This move may birth invigorating and exciting adventures that broaden my horizons. I may see amazing new landscapes that make me feel closer to nature and the God who created it all. I might meet people who challenge me and push the boundaries of my perspective. And as these new experiences and individuals orbit my gravitational system, we could perfectly align, illuminating colors and light that I can share with the world!

Yea. . .  I think I’ll look for the syzygy from now on.