LIFTOFF!!!!

Well, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off today and it was a beautiful event to watch - as usual! And what a fitting day for this to occur - July 4th! Happy Birthday America!

Today the children and I hung close to the computer and later the TV to monitor the progress of the launch preparations and the liftoff. It is such an exciting time for all of us! I get quite emotional and nervous about it all! That comes, in part, from the 2 shuttle launches we have experienced. I remember, of course, the space shuttle Columbia breaking up over our very own state of Texas, but more clear than that is the memory of the space shuttle Challenger blowing up after launch. I was in 5th grade and my class was lucky enough to get a TV in our classroom to watch the launch live on TV. (These were the early days when it seemed they covered the launches for hours.) I so clearly remember the horror of watching it explode right then and knowing something was not going right. God rest the souls of all those astronauts lost in both disasters.

Today everything went right! To me, the shuttle blasting off into outer space is a good example of God's majesty! Yes, I know the shuttle is a man-made machine put into orbit by men, but without God it would never happen. God has given man such knowledge and wisdom that he is capable of such a feat. These gifts are a treasure and can be used for his glory. May the business of space exploration always be a means to glorify God and his creation and to stand in awe at His magnificence. I can imagine it might be hard NOT to believe in the Creator God as you catch sight of the earth from the windows of the shuttle.

I am also so proud this day and most every time the shuttle launches because Brian has a role to play in getting the shuttle where it's going. My standard line for those who ask what he does is, "He designs how the shuttle flies in the first 2 minutes after launch." He works on a team who works across the hall from Mission Control on launch day. What an exciting job, especially for a man who dreamed of working on the shuttle program as a boy! I know there are thousands of other men and women who make the shuttle missions possible, but as a I watch the shuttle ascend I am all puffed up knowing that MY Brian did that! Congratulations, dear one, on a job well done!

The shuttle has been a part of my life since I was a young child in elementary school. I know that one day it will no longer blast off and will most likely be replaced. But I hate to see it go! I hope it departs in a blaze of glory much as it blasted off today!

Thank you God for giving us the minds to dream, to know, to create, and to explore. To You be all the Glory!