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| Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse (95%) - August 28, 2026 12:11AM |
Keep watch, dear Lord,
with those who work, or watch, or weep this night,
and give your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend the sick,
give rest to the weary,
sustain the dying,
calm the suffering,
and pity the distressed;
all for your love’s sake, O Christ our Redeemer.
(Collect for Compline)
Compline, part of the Liturgy of the Hours, is the day's final prayer. I love the scripture selections and prayers in this short service, and reading them calms my mind for sleep. I would think of my coworkers on night shifts at the hospital and the patients they cared for when praying the words above. The prayer became more personal in recent weeks during the illness and passing of my friend, Anne, and my current circumstances.
I am now four weeks post knee replacement surgery, and can confirm that this is one of the more painful orthopedic procedures. Doing the prescribed exercises three times a day is not fun, but...I am very pleased with the movement and strength in my left knee, and expect further improvement in the coming months. The biggest challenge since my surgery on July 29th continues to be SLEEP! I dread the seemingly endless dark hours and sleep only sixty to ninety minutes at a time before having to walk around and reposition myself. Daytime distractions keep our focus off the pain, but it takes over our brain during the quiet hours of the night. I haven't been this tired since caring for our premature twin girls when they came home from the hospital.
I awoke today at midnight after a couple of hours of fitful rest and sat out on the deck to watch the peak of the lunar eclipse. The sky was brilliantly clear and the night was peacefully still. Earth's umbral shadow covered about 95% of the moon's surface by 12:12 AM before the full moon began emerging from the shadow. I felt like my usual self, anchored to the bench as I used my knees and elbows as a tripod for the camera. Nature is a balm that helps me remember that I am a very, very small and temporary part of the universe.
I am grateful for my amazing friend who capably cared for me in her home for the first ten days postoperatively. My family has been attentive and supportive, and neighbours and friends have shown kindness as well. My trajectory is upward, and I have just under 10 weeks before the next knee replacement surgery. (I am so grateful my surgeon did not take me up on my request to have them both done at the same time!!). My goal is a significant improvement in mobility by my next birthday in January, God willing.
Like a shadow crossing the moon before it returned to its full brilliance, my pain and sleep "eclipse" will soon pass.
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