STS-135

July 8, 2011: a sad day--the final Shuttle Launch in the current NASA Shuttle program, launch mission STS-135.

Just a random photo I found appropriate.

Having grown up on the Space Coast, I have seen more rockets and shuttles launch than I have seen mountains, snowfalls, tornados, waterfalls, etc. Every launch is spectacular. Even when the view is limited, hazy, or short-lived, something about sending things to space--a frontier only imagined by most and so inaccurately portrayed by television--really hits a nerve in the human spirit. Maybe it's the fact that space is so unknown that intrigues us. Perhaps that it gives a glimpse of the vastness of God's infinite glory and majesty and creativity. Perhaps that it gives a new perspective on life and the insignificance of our problems in comparison to the universe and the power of God to fix them. Perhaps space is so intriguing because God designed it to prove His love for us, to give us a masterpiece to view every night. He created galaxies that we can't see so that we could see them and stand in awe of God--His grace, His glory, His mercy, His loving-kindness, His patience, His goodness, His sovereignty, His Son.

I got to meet up with my family, too! 

Anyway, I helped plan an event to watch this last shuttle launch with the interns and staff and some guests. In total, seventeen people drove from Orlando on Thursday night (July 7, 2011) to First Baptist of Merritt Island to spend the night there and drive to KARS park at 3:00 AM Friday (July 8, 2011). Planning this event was one of the most stressful, stretching experiences I've been faced with so far! I grew in so many ways just in the planning--as a professional, as an individual, as a team leader, as a son of God.

Well, we waited on a dock at the park on the river for EIGHT HOURS to watch Atlantis lift off shortly after 11:26 AM on Friday, July 8, 2011. For many of the group that had come, this was the first launch they had ever seen. So, not only was this historic (being the last launch) but also monumental in their lives! Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

God blessed us with a cool morning (though, mosquitoes were hungry for breakfast blood) and a beautiful view of the lift-off.

Though I hope I never have to plan another event this big, we all had a wonderful time and were blessed by each others company. Who knew that God could use something so fun to grow His servants?

I love my job.