Serve by Design

The NASA team, along with many of us watching the event from home, welcomed all four Artemis II astronauts home this past Friday at 7:07 CST after completing what seemed to us to be a flawless reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The heat shield of the Orion capsule protected its precious cargo through 5,000 degrees of intensely dangerous heat at speeds of 25,000 miles per hour. Many of us whispered our prayers for the crew’s safety. Image: petapixel.com Described frequently as a “dynamic and dangerous mission,” this incredible journey to the moon did not disappoint! I was one among many other space travel enthusiasts who were wowed by the pictures the crew took, and enjoyed their cabin antics over the ten-day mission. This epic and dynamic flight, out and around the moon, required the execution of so many crucial steps and changes. Experts kept reminding us in this historic mission that “a lot of things had to go right” for this to be as successful as it appeared to be. And who could de...

I enjoyed a special breakfast meeting this week with a couple of dear friends at one of our favorite restaurants. It had been a few years since we had all been together with each other in person. The three of us slid into the booth and the conversation immediately commenced. For what seemed like a few minutes, but spanned a couple of hours, we chatted, laughed, and shared life with each other! We just picked up where we last left off! I have repeatedly over the years experienced this gift and dynamic of true friendship! Image credit: vecteezy.com During this same week, I had conversations with three other friends. One said, “I sure do miss our small group meetings!” Another commented, “I so appreciate everyone’s prayers on my behalf!” And another newer friend suggested, “Why don’t we get together soon? I want to run some things by you!” My life is rich with such friendships! I find relational value in each encounter! I need that regular relational connection and I sense my friends need...