Apollo 14

For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. (Hebrews 10:37-39 NIV).

Alan Shepard, Jr. was born in 1923 and died in 1998. He served on a destroyer during World War II and later had extensive experience as a test pilot. However, he is best known for his accomplishment on May 5, 1961. On that day, under the U.S. space program Project Mercury, he became the first American to be launched into space. His flight was a suborbital trip of 302 miles down the Atlantic missile range. He reached a height of 115 miles and performed several maneuvers of his capsule, Freedom 7, during the fifteen-minute flight. In 1971, he commanded the Apollo 14 lunar landing, becoming the fifth person to walk on the moon. In 1974, Shepard retired from both NASA and the U.S. Navy as a rear admiral to enter private industry.

With Deke Slayton, another original Mercury astronaut, he wrote Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon (1994). In his book he writes of his experiences as an astronaut, especially the moon landing. The Apollo 14 mission attracted widespread interest, in part because of its predecessor's near disaster, but also because its popular commander, Alan Shepard, was making a comeback after ten years. Following his Mercury flight in May 1961, Shepard had been grounded for a minor ear disorder. He had continued in the program, serving for a while as chief of the Astronaut Office at Houston. Flights had passed him by, however, until surgery corrected his ear problem in 1969. Shepard's first words as he stepped on to the moon were inspired by his 9 years, 10 months, and 10 days of waiting since Mercury-Redstone 3, when he had been the first American in space, to the day he stepped on the moon. "It's been a long way," he said, "but we're here."

How like him we all are at times! As we face trials and difficulties we may encourage ourselves with the knowledge that even though the way may be long, someday we will arrive! A little boy was offered the opportunity to select a dog for his birthday present. At the pet store, he was shown a number of puppies. From them he picked one whose tail was wagging furiously. When he was asked why he selected that particular dog, the little boy said, "I wanted the one with the happy ending." We have a happy ending awaiting us in Christ! The following poem says it well:

Light after darkness, gain after loss;
Strength after weakness, crown after cross;
Sweet after bitter, hope after fears;
Home after wandering, praise after tears;
Sheaves after sowing, sun after rain;
Sight after mystery, peace after pain;
Joy after sorrow, calm after blast;
Rest after weariness, sweet rest at last;
Near after distant, gleam after gloom;
Love after loneliness, life after tomb;
After long agony, rapture of bliss;
Right was the pathway, leading to this.