I have been flooded with memories since hearing of the death of Neil Armstrong this weekend. I so vividly remember the first moonwalk,
when I heard for the first time the words “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
These words, along with his very name, are now etched in the
annals of history. The experience defined a generation and spoke a pervasive
word to humanity.
To remember the first walk on the moon, you have to be about
my age or older. I was four! My mother sat me down in front of the
old black and white TV with the rabbit ear antennas and said, “Stephen, you
need to watch this, it’s a day you will always remember.” I certainly do, and I
remember it vividly.
I am humored by memories of our housekeeper, who came in and
told me it was all a hoax, that it wasn’t real, just like the radio show about
Martians had been fake (when I got older, I realized she was talking about the
infamous “War of the Worlds”). I was confused, but my parents told me later
that yes, it was indeed true, and I had been watching history in the making.
Throughout my life, my mind has floated back to that day in front of the television watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. When so often our lives are defined by our limitations (our abilities or lack thereof, our circumstances, our decisions), the first moonwalk reminds me that there is another way to look at life. Life is defined by our infinite possibilities.
What step are you called to take? Wherever you are in your life, one small step might lead to your own spiritual moonwalk on a whole new world of possibilities. It takes one small step to embark on this new path, this new walk, this new adventure.
Are you willing to take it? Perhaps you have spent much time and energy preparing to take that one step, and you know very well what it is but you are caught in fear. Or perhaps God has not shown you what step it is that you might be called to take. Wherever you are in life, I pray that you might have both clarity and courage to step off the ladder.
"We walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7
