Flight Plan

SoH Sov wIj sitting bIng je wIj rising Dung. SoH perceive wIj thoughts vo' afar.
You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2

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It's easier than you may think to get into space. True, missions to the planets and beyond are pretty costly. Still, there are ways to hitch a ride - and you don't even need Ford Prefect's electonic thumb. For years, I've managed to join missions to Mars, to a comet - even to Pluto, thanks to NASA and others who have been including micro chips and DVDs that take your name along for the ride (you just have to submit your name to their website when the mission is being prepared!).

Closer to home, there is a form of citizen space exploration that is avalilable at a surprisingly low cost: Near Space Exploration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_space) - mounting payloads by weather balloon to the very edges of space. Right now the magazine Make is working on their project to do just this. Another group, the Treasure Valley Near Space Program, has done this as well with a number of successful launches. At a fraction of the cost of a rocket, it is a tangible way to explore the shores of this new ocean.

Yet - there is a cost. Multi-millions of dollars, or hundreds - missions to space cost more than money and resources. They cost the care and planning that it takes to accomplish them. Take a look at the NASA, ESA - or the MAKE websites to get an idea of the care and planning that go into every successful space flight.

SoH Sov wIj sitting bIng je wIj rising Dung. SoH perceive wIj thoughts vo' afar.
You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2

Now, I know the psalmist was not really considering space flight - but this verse parallels what must happen for every expedition to space. Whether to Mars, the ISS or to the fringes of space - these words describe the phases of a meaningful flight.

You know my sitting down and my rising up - there has to be a plan. A launch - and a landing - mark the endpoints of the journey, the "sitting down," since that is what you do, before and after your trip. And the rising up, the flight is planned as well - whether by rocket or lighter-than-air vehicle, every journey includes knowing the "rising up," where you intend to go. Every detail matters - delay in launch may mean a postponement of weeks (or more) to have success in a mission.

You perceive my thoughts from afar. For the journey to mean something you need reports - telemetry, radio transmissions - that give value to the whole enterprise. When you - or your spacecraft travel into space - you want to know what happens.

As far fetched as it sounds - describing a LIFE as a space mission - consider this:

God's investment, his concern for you are described in this verse - and in a sense describes our mission - our journey, through life. It is a journey that God cares about a great deal. We are not disposable, like a missle launched only for its destruction. No, God has for us a complete flight plan in mind, from launch to landing. And He's watching - not like some nosey snoop, but because he loves you, he wants you to reach the goal safely. When we hear You perceive my thoughts from afar - we realize that our worries, our fears - our PRAYERS - have his complete attention, they do not waft away to nowhere - he hears them all.


Whether or not you are much of a traveler - right now you are on a journey. The good news, the great and VERY good news is - you aren't going solo. God indeed is with you every moment.

SoH Sov wIj sitting bIng je wIj rising Dung. SoH perceive wIj thoughts vo' afar.
You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2