50th Anniversary of Man Landing on the Moon
Just 65 years after the Wright brothers made their historic 12 second, 120 foot long flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C., the Apollo 8 spacecraft, under the command of Frank Borman orbited the moon, a 3 day 250,000 mile journey. Live from space on Christmas Eve as pictures of the moon were televised back to earth the crew members took turns reading the creation story from Genesis I. One year later Neil Armstrong's voice crackled over the radio, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Soon afterwards, Neil Armstrong declared as he set foot on the lunar landscape, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." I still get goose bumps as I vividly recall witnessing these events live on the television in the comfort of my living room. I remember watching in awe as pictures of the moon and the Earth rise above the lunar landscape, portrayed the stark contrast of the deep blackness and empty void of space with the blue colored orb suspended in the vastness. "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and stars which thou has ordained; what is man that thou dost take thought of him?" "The heavens declare the glory of God." My mind needs to go to the psalmist, who never dreamed of space travel, for an adequate response to express what we have witnessed.