Just before 7:30 PM last night, Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket launched astronauts Michael S. Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Victor J. Glover and Soichi Noguchi into space. Their mission will be to connect with the International Space Station and over the next six months conduct experiments, perform some maintenance tasks, and talk to students back here on the earth.
At the end of September, the crew announced the name of their capsule. Commander Michael Hopkins said, “”The Crew-1 Dragon capsule, no. 207, will henceforth be known by the call sign Resilience.”
Resilience.
Sometimes crews look to the past (“Sojourner” was named after Sojourner Truth) to name their spacecraft. Sometimes they look to the future (“Opportunity”, “Discovery”).
This crew wanted to focus on the present – this year with its global pandemic, economic hardship, greater awareness of racial inequities and social unrest.
Humans have an amazing capacity for resilience. We can cope, we can adapt, we can transform ourselves in the face of traumatic events and discoveries. If you did not know that in 2019, you’ve hopefully learned it in 2020!
I can do all things through God who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
As you hear the stories and see the pictures which will come to us from the spacecraft Resilience, celebrate your own resilience during this past year. How have you coped? How have you adapted? How have you been transformed?
Maybe you learned how to use Zoom. Yay!
Maybe you read a book about white privilege. Yay!
Maybe you spent more time with your immediate family. Yay!
Maybe you learned how to bake a loaf of sourdough bread, grew a vegetable garden, took up meditation. Yay!
Yay you!
Resilience is a gift. Resilience is a gift.
In Christ,
Pastor Jen