This week, my husband and I headed up to Niagara Falls to see the solar eclipse. We took a road trip in Aaron’s Jeep, making our way through Wisconsin, up through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and through Ontario, Canada, in three days, all to see… a lot of clouds.

Unfortunately, the day of the eclipse was overcast, but the trip was not a total bust. We were able to see bits of the eclipse through thinner parts of the clouds as the weather blew by. And we didn’t miss one glimpse, as there was a dad behind us watching closely to make sure his kids didn’t miss anything. He loudly yelled, “LOOK NOW, LOOK NOW!” any time the sun was in sight.

But totality, when the moon is directly blocking the sun’s light, was magical, clouds or no clouds. At 3:20 in the afternoon, the city of Niagara, NY went dark as midnight. Lights on sensors lit up the city and the Canadian shoreline over the river. As well as thousands of cell phones from gathered gawkers, trying to capture a fraction of the majesty of the moment.

There’s something magical about this world. Our moon is the perfect size and distance away to EXACTLY cover the sun in the sky. It’s such an amazing coincidence, or poetic, Godly design (take your pick!) that our moon is just the right size, that the suspense can build for over an hour before the final moment to perfectly cover our star as it passes by. On other planets, if we could visit them, the moons would be too big or too small or too close or too far to have the same effect. Earth is blessed and unique in many ways, but this reason is among my favorites.

I hope all of you who stayed home got to glimpse a part of this magical event. I hope all who traveled had clearer weather than we did! And I hope all of you take the time to love and appreciate this wonderful, blessed planet we call home.