I was 13 years old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. I remember that our family watched it on television at Mamaw and Papaw’s house in Mooresville, N.C. I remember that it was my cousin J’s birthday. I remember that we were all gathered around the television. I can’t remember if we watched in black and white or in color.
My Dad had just lost his mother six months before on Christmas day 1968. He was the same age as all three astronauts – 39. And he commented on how much Miss E. (his mother) would have loved this moment. He often quoted her:
“It’s amazing what the LORD has let us learn.”
Consider how much we’ve learned over the past 50 years. And consider what we will learn – by God’s grace – in the next 50. Let’s hope it includes cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, ALS, diabetes, bipolarity, addiction and every other disease that wrecks our lives. Let’s hope the future includes a way to clean the air and water for future generations. Let’s hope there is still a place to enjoy quiet. Let’s hope.
Image from AFP/Getty Images as published in The Atlantic magazine.
A Church for Starving Artists 