Thursday, August 09, 2007

Liftoff to chills

Lucky me, I happened to get home last night just in time to catch the Space Shuttle Endeavor's launch. The news switched to live coverage, and at 10 seconds to launch they had an up close shot of the sparks firing before the steam started billowing around the rocket, and finally they were off.

A perfect arc of steam and smoke followed them as the shuttle climbed higher and the sky around it got darker. It gave me chills.

I mean, how insane is it to strap yourself to this giant rocket and go to a place clearly not meant for human habitation? Yet, how inspiring. That's why it's appearing here on the Faith blog. Watching the astronauts hurtle into outer space is one of those moments in the course of our secular lives that causes anyone paying attention to pause, to rally around a common goal, and to remember how truly small we are in comparison to all creation.

Photo: Folks in Cocoa Beach, Fla., stand to take pictures and watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour Wednesday. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

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