February 21, 2006

[Rev. Doc]

Making The Most In A Short Time

"You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath."
Psalm 39:5

As a child, Rick Husband wanted to become a pilot and an astronaut. In 1980, he entered the Air Force and in 1999 Colonel Husband flew aboard the shuttle Discovery. A dedicated Christian, Rick shared how much he enjoyed singing to the Lord: "Well, I've been singing for a long time. When I was growing up going to church, I sang in church choir as a real little kid. especially with some of the songs that we sing in church, just being able to sing a song to tell God how much I love Him, it just feels great. It really does."

On the morning of January 16, 2003, Rick was the commander of the shuttle Columbia. Just after suiting up and prior to walking to the shuttle, Rick stopped the crew before they opened the door and said he wanted to pray for them. Later one of the technicians said that in all his years at NASA, he had never heard of a commander praying for and with his crew. Just prior to launch, Rick radioed mission control that "The Lord has given us a great day." The Columbia crew spent the next two weeks in space, but just 16 minutes prior to landing in Florida, Columbia broke apart re-entering the earth's atmosphere. In a fleeting moment, Rick was able to join the Lord he loved.

Our lives are short. We are called to a live of faith and love in Christ Jesus.

Prayer: Ask God to help you make the most of the time He has given you.

"God will never, never, never let us down if we have faith and put our trust in Him. He will always look after us. So we must cleave to Jesus. Our whole life must simply be woven into Jesus."
~Mother Teresa