Houston We Have A Problem

A good friend of mine, Brian Keel, who is CFO at the Toledo YMCAs wrote this recently:

I’ve been reading the book Failure is Not an Option by Eugene Kranz, Toledo native and legendary NASA flight director. While a relatively small part of the book deals directly with the story of Apollo 13 it could be said that the entire book and the entire history of NASA is related to that mission. For all the intelligence possessed by the engineers in Mission Control, for all the technology (advanced for its time) that was at their disposal, for all the courage shown by the crew, it was the training and experience of the people that made the difference between success and failure of Apollo 13.

A pastor friend likened our individual reaction to a crisis or pressure to that of a sponge. What comes out of us when we’re squeezed depends on what we have been soaking in! The Mission Control team soaked itself in training and simulation to be ready for almost any situation. What are we soaking in?

Some of the key components like prayer, corporate worship and Bible study are obvious. But so many of the choices we make every day also contribute to our environment. Do we spend more time with our negative friends or the positive ones? Do we watch TV shows where spouses and children treat each other with respect or do they yell and put each other down?

Soak in the good stuff…. And success will be our only option!

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” James 1:2