Imagine a time when T.V.’s had rabbit ears, rotary phones made sparks to dial out and people listened to music on record players. In that day, people were called “computers” until IBM introduced a data processing system for NASA filling an entire room but far less powerful than your iPhone. Now, go to the Moon!
As we recently celebrated the anniversary of men walking on the Moon, whether for the first time or the 50th time, the accomplishment is no less amazing and awe-inspiring today than in 1969. Embracing the dream President Kennedy planted in the hearts and minds of Americans in 1962, we rallied as a nation to overcome incredible obstacles to see this dream come true. What was once only imagined in stories and movies became a reality.
Although men stepped onto the Moon 5 more times over the next 3 years, there has not been a lunar mission since 1972. Recently, we have been challenged to return to the Moon and even Mars – but more than that, we have been challenged to dare to dream again as a nation.
Growing up in the 60’s, I was captivated by the quest of going to the Moon and wanted to be an astronaut. Since I get dizzy on a merry-go-round, that dream never quite became a reality, but I was still very passionate about it.
Revisiting the exhilaration I felt watching Neil Armstrong take that one small step has been bitter-sweet. I’ve experienced a sense of renewed wonder, but it’s been accompanied by some waves of regret – not only because I didn’t travel into space, but because I was also reminded that this dream, along with others in my life, never came true. And so, as history taught me, dreams are risky and can end in disappointment.
But the courage to dream is always risky. God created us to dream and we involuntarily do so every night while sleeping. I guess the trick is to do it voluntarily while we’re awake! Maybe you and I need to risk dreaming again? And perhaps this time, we should ask God to give us a dream – a heavenly dream. That may seem like a small step, but it might just result in a giant leap that impacts generations to come.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 NASB
Image courtesy of NASA