God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars. (Job 25:5)Friday was the 43rd anniversary of the Moon Walk. Three men traveled to the moon, two went to the moon itself and one – Neal Armstrong – walked on the moon for the first time in human history.
It was so amazing. But what was even more amazing was that we would go a few more times and then never again for almost forty years.
But that night was magical. Humanity had walked on the moon.
July 20th, 1969. It was Sunday night and we had a church get together that night after evening services. There were several portable TV sets around the fellowship hall so everyone could watch.
I had been drafted the Monday before to go into the army and I almost felt like my life was going to be over. I would go to Vietnam, get killed and it would be the end.
But for now a man was walking on the moon and we were watching.
He stepped out of the moon capsule and said the immortal words: “One small step for man, one giant step for mankind.” I understand it was a mistake. It was supposed to be “One small step for a man” but Mr Armstrong messed up.
However, it made no difference. We were there and it was great.
We all cheered at the church when it happened and talked about what a future we would have.
But who could have known that we would, in just a few short years, abandon the whole moon quest that John Kennedy had started us on? More rockets would up and then the space shuttles, but the explosion of the Challenger right after takeoff killed the whole thing.
Our children can look at the moon and think of footsteps up there, an American flag on a pole, blast marks where the capsule landed and took off, along with a couple more and then – nothing.
It is kind of like life. You do something great early in your life and you are never able to recover that greatness. As an older man, I marvel at some of the things I was able to do as a younger man, and it seems that my life stopped.
The moon is still there and I would imagine that private space exploration is going to recover that success. We will probably go back to the moon again within the next few years.
But the initial glory, the historical aspect, is gone. We will be going back to that which we abandoned. And though it will be great, at the same time, it will be another trip to the moon.
But it was something then, that is for sure.
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