A STORY TO TELL

by THE REVEREND JAMES L. PAHL JR., D. MIN., VICAR

Did you know that our very own Travis Jackson was standing in NASA Mission Control at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., the very moment Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon? As a young associate engineer, he was witness to the historic mission and he has a story to tell.

A story to tell. We all have stories to tell — the kind of story that serves as a “witness” to what has and is happening in the life our Lord has so graciously given us. And when we hear the story of others, it should cause us to ponder the work of God. To hear and see the hand of God is powerful, a testimony of life-giving things — things that do not end. Each life story is sacred, and as such, we are to honor the work of God in others and what the Lord is doing in us. As “Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’” (John 20:29) of engineers and space experts involved in the technical design and functionality of the rocket boosters, nicknamed “DC Buses,” which would lift the astronauts into the heavens. He then shifted to the Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT), about a month before launch. Four days before launch, he moved to the Launch Control Center (LCC) and assisted in monitoring system drawings to determine their functionality through the launch.

Travis had a front row seat to some amazing events. The story begins with his graduation from N.C. State in 1966, and an interview with NASA at Reynolds Coliseum. That led to his first job as an associate engineer for NASA, where he served in a supporting role from the late 1960s to early 1970s, witnessing almost all of the Apollo missions (4, 8 and 10-16). On the historic Apollo 8 mission, Travis was part of a large team

“Some people believed that we would never reach the moon,” Travis says, of his time on the Apollo missions. “That it was not meant to be. And most of these people believed this because they considered it ‘God’s territory,’ not meant for us humans to reach. How in the world can this happen? But it did, and we saw God!”

It was history-making work, but as NASA moved away from the Apollo program and toward the design of the Shuttle missions, Travis decided to pursue an advanced degree at N.C. State and focus on his family.

Seeing the Impossible

There are those who have questioned whether the moon landing actually happened, believing it was filmed out in the desert as a government hoax. Many saw it on a black and white screen in July of 1969, but we weren’t there to see it with our own eyes. Travis saw the launch itself, the electronic and digital details in the Control Center, the direct and personal audio communication and the direct, unfiltered video feed into NASA. There is something concrete about seeing!

Often, we are walking blind in the dark, trusting the presence and direction of the Lord. It takes more than belief; it is a matter of faith and keeping the faith, when we are barely hanging on by the tips of our fingers. Even the most faithfully devoted people sometimes have some tinge of doubt with issues of faith and belief. Yet, doubt is not the opposite of faith. The opposite of faith is unbelief. Being in doubt means being engaged, and that can lead to greater revelation — a stronger faith.

The Apostle Thomas discovered truth despite doubt; his eyes saw the impossible, “My Lord, and my God!”

(John 20:28) Sometimes our hearts, minds and souls need our eyes to see and be shown — that it helps form our life story. And, there is nothing wrong with asking the Lord to help us see and sense what God is doing in us and others. We want the visuals. We need the sign. The Apostle Paul needed to see something, and it began for him on the road to Damascus. Moses — questioning his own fitness to lead — needed to be shown and he found it in the burning bush and the awe and majesty of the mountain-top experience in the divine presence.

What is the story of God's work in you?

We are told in the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, the Lord created all that is and is seen — the stars, you and me, time itself, light... And, the light “showed” us the way. Verse 9 says, “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” We see the world with our eyes, and long ago people of this world saw Jesus, the light (God manifested in the person of the Son, fully God). We don’t see Jesus in the flesh as others did, but we see Him in all the manifested ways one can.

Listening to the Sacred

As a young man of faith, Travis witnessed the awe-inspiring moment when the Apollo 8 crew of William Anders, Jim Lovell, and Commander Frank Borman read the Creation story from Genesis, Chapter 1:1-10. They couldn’t take an entire Bible due to weight, so they read the Scripture from flame-resistant paper. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth…” These words illuminate God’s mighty works of all creation. While orbiting the moon, looking back toward the earth and reading the scriptural account, the crew saw the “earthrise” for the first time in human existence. And Travis listened and saw it, too. “It was the beginning of a real surge in my faith,” he says. “An unbelievable moment.”

We are all members of the story God is telling the world. What is the story of God’s work in you? Like Travis, we are witnesses to the work of God. It’s up to us to look at our lives and see God there. And we are to share what we see with others, so they, too, can see and believe. Jesus is right, we are to believe without seeing; but, oh, how radiant is the light that shines for our eyes to see – a witness, a story to tell that can grace the ears of others.

As the theologian Frederick Buechner posed in a question, “Why doesn’t God send us a sign to dispel all our doubts, such as a message in the sky, written by the rearrangement of the universe, with suns and moons to dot the “i’s” and cross the “t’s”, so that the night sky would read, ‘I Am God! I Really Do Exist!’” Perhaps He has and does! It’s called, a story to tell