An Astronaut’s Faith
A friend familiar with some details of the crew of the spaceship Columbia shared with me the following.
Astronaut Rick Husband, a quiet and humble man, was a man of great faith. A story circulated from a suit technician on the pad. After the astronauts “suited up” on that final day before the flight, they walked down a hallway to meet the press. Rick stopped the crew before the door opened to pray for each one on the crew. Later, the technicians commented to one another and said that in all of their years, they had never heard a captain praying for and with his crew.
The spouses of the crew each have the opportunity to pick a song to wake up their mate on one morning of the time the crew is in space? What would you pick for your spouse, if married? Rick’s wife selected Steve Green’s song “God of Wonders” which is on his popular CD “Woven in Time.” The song goes like this:
Lord of all creation
Of water, earth and sky
The heavens are Your tabernacle
Glory to the Lord on high
God of wonders beyond our galaxy
You are holy, holy
The universe declares Your Majesty
(Precious Lord, reveal Your heart to me)
You are holy, holy
Lord of heaven and earth
Lord of heaven and earth
Early in the morning
I will celebrate Your light
When I stumble in the darkness
I will call Your name by night
Hallelujah, to the Lord of heaven and earth
Hallelujah, to the Lord of heaven and earth.
Rick responded by saying, “Good morning. Thank you. We can really appreciate the lyrics of that song up here. We look out the window and see that God truly is a God of wonders!”
Rick had shared with friends via email that it was overwhelming to see God’s vast creation from space. He said that he never cried while exercising before, but while peddling the stationary bike and looking out of the window at God’s incredible creation, it simply brought tears to his eyes.
Rick made 34 devotional videotapes for his children prior to the flight. There were 17 for his daughter and 17 for his son. It was a special way for him to be with his children, one little message for each day while he was gone. What tremendous treasures these will be to his children for years to come.
Maybe we should ask ourselves, if our lives were to end tomorrow, what would we leave behind? Could we honestly say we have been happy as to how we have been disciplining our own life and that of our children or grandchildren?