Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I watched the giant clock slowly count down at the Kennedy Space Center.  I was excited for Tom, my husband, who was about to fulfill a lifelong dream… flying in space… but I was terrified.

The love of my life was sitting on top of a so-called “controlled explosion” and he was about to be lifted off the ground by 7 million pounds of thrust on a machine burning fuel at 12 tons per second!  I was putting my trust in God, but I desperately needed His peace.

“4… 3… 2… 1… LIFT OFF!!!”

The shuttle lurched off the launch pad going from zero to 17,500 mph in 8 and half minutes…that’s five miles a second!    God’s peace surrounded me and I was filled will joy and hope.  I smiled then cheered, “Go, baby, go!”

Tom was the pilot/commander of four successful space shuttle missions.  During that time, God showed me that His love and peace were more powerful than any man-made rocket.

God has blessed me with a crazy, hectic, grueling, constant wave of never-ending excitement.  I’ve been in situations where I’ve felt like I was about to be launched into the unknown, but I called on the Lord and He delivered me.  I’m still a work in progress, but every day, I’m overwhelmed by His grace, mercy and love.

I accepted Christ into my heart when I was very young and He has been with me every step of the way… in the good times and the bad.  The first songs I learned were in the church.  At eight years old, I would sing, “I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.”  I feel the same way today as I did back then.

Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him.”