With great interest, I've been watching the space shuttle Discovery's crew and their activities during this, NASA's historic return to space flight. 

I find myself in awe on so many levels, not the least of which being the knowledge and understanding of the laws of science required to conquer the space frontier.  I am impressed by the drive and determination of all those involved in our space program who have experienced setbacks and sorrows and adversities and have worked through them to come out stronger and even more respectful of the tenuous nature of their field of study.  I am humbled by the trust the astronauts must have in their colleagues' abilities and the faith they have to have to literally step off into the unknown.

And as these incredible images --photographs from space--  transmit to my computer and television, showing our life-sustaining planet and the vastness that surrounds us, I am awe-struck by the profundity of God.

I remember my first plane trip as a young child, looking out the window to the tiny world below and wondering if that was how we appeared to God.  And now, with these photographs of Earth from space, I'm awash with emotion, because now I wonder if this is how God sees us.  Not as some whirling mass of water and rock and gas, but as a whole.  As His complete creation.  As the possibility of existing in harmony, person-to-person, living thing-to-living thing.  These pictures remind me how much our God loves us.  Looking into the beyond and down to Earth, it is so easy to feel so small, so insignificant in the greatness of all God has created.  Yet, we are individually, as parts of the world God made, so loved that He sent for our sakes, a baby, His son, who would grow up to teach us about our Father and to fulfill our need for a Savior.

And so, as I write this, we all await Discovery's return to Earth, filled with awe, hope, faith, a little fear, and much expectation.  This, I believe, is how we are called to live our lives in Christ, waiting on God to complete His work in us, with all due reverence and trust in the One who gives us life.

Grace and peace to you as you journey.

Yours in Christ,  

~~Jennifer

8/03/05

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