To the Moon and Back

A true story is told of a nine-year-old boy playing in his home one evening, when his mother told the young lad: “Jimmy, it’s time to get ready for bed.” 

Unlike most kids, Jimmy obeyed his parent the first time his mother made her request, and he went straight upstairs to his room.

An hour or so later his mother came up to check on her son, and to her surprise she found Jimmy sitting quietly by his bedroom window staring upwards. 

“What are you doing, Jimmy?” asked the the young boy’s mother.

“I’m looking at the moon, mum. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“Well, it might be beautiful, but it’s time to get into bed now.”

Jimmy climbed in between his sheets, and his mother kissed him good-night.

“Mum…” began Jimmy, “You know one day I’m going to walk on the moon.” 

“Yes dear,” was Jimmy’s mother’s response. “Now go to sleep.”

Thirty-two years later James “Jim” Irwin became the eighth person to walk on the moon, one of only twelve humans to have ever done so. When James Irwin returned to Earth from his time in the vastness of space he surrendered his life to Christ. 

Jim Irwin’s time in space looking back at our planet convinced him there must be a Creator of our complex universe.

The Bible talks about people through history who have had a God-given calling placed on their lives, and then had the courage to follow their Creator’s vision for the remainder of their years. 

The Hebrew Bible’s “Book of Joel” talks about the Creator giving dreams and visions to both the young and the old.*  The challenge for each of us is to be brave enough to recognise when the Lord is calling us to Him, and then giving our life a calling. 

What’s God’s vision for the rest of your life?

* Joel 2:28

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About this blog: Pastor David Riley is a minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and lives on the Gold Coast in Australia. This article is from his “Reverential Ramblings” series – which you can subscribe to by clicking “follow” on this website.

Want to read more inspirational stories of faith from this series? Click here to read the story of an Olympic rower who stopped for ducks.