Volume XVIII, Issue XXI: Return to the Final Frontier
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14
I remember 1968. I was in high school and the 1960s had been a challenging time. 1968 saw the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Attorney General Bobby Kennedy. The war in Vietnam festered on and there was much unrest at home. Ugly riots were a part of the era as well. It seems we have not learned from those times. In December of 1968 a significant event gave us all a new focus on our planetary home. Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts-Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders-held a live broadcast from lunar orbit, in which they showed pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft. Said Lovell, “The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth.” They ended the broadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis. May we once again take in a new perspective and again find Divine wisdom for our own time.
One of my dearest friends is a man from Rwanda. He and his parents are refugees of the terrible genocide there. I asked him once “are you a Hutu or a Tutsi, I cannot tell the difference?” to which he replied “both.” He loves living in this country and ministers to refugees. Someday a better writer than I am shall have to tell his story. I do not know if my friend meant that he is ‘biracial’ or that he identified with both peoples of his native land. I see him today working with people from all over the globe who have come here to escape unthinkable realities in their native lands.
I first met Ebenezer on a day when I had gone out hiking. I really didn’t want to interact with ANYBODY that day. But I stopped at Raven’s Roost to take in the view at The Sentinel, a lone pine tree growing out of a rocky outcropping. He was holding his little daughter at the overlook and she gave me the sweetest smile and a wave! Children! They can be our best teachers. I asked “where are you from?” He said “New Jersey” and I said “No you’re not!” “OK, AFRICA.” “I KNOW that, where?” OK, Rwanda.” Ebenezer enlisted me to help him with his youth ministry in Waynesboro (Africans obviously don’t think age disqualifies you). This wonderful man (and his daughter) pulled me out of my comfort zone. He stood with me once taking in the beauty of nature. He said “it is so nice to just enjoy the beauty without running through the wilderness fearing for your life.”
As the Astronauts of Apollo 8 began their long trip back to Earth, NASA received a telegram from a now unknown person who said simply, addressing the astronauts, “You saved 1968.” Let us turn from our “new normals” and pray for our land. I am taking a break from publication. I am taking a break from social media (except to look at family baby photos and such). I need to pray and do things. I need to help my friends in their garden. I need to walk in the woods. I need to build bridges. None of these things really happens from behind a keyboard.
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Returning to Space with Spacex, May 30, 2020
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