On this day in 1995, Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the space shuttle when the Discovery blasted off.

Exploring space has been very important to the United States for many decades. The name of the shuttle, “Discovery,” accurately describes the goal of all of our rocket launches, orbital missions, visits to the moon, space walks, space stations, and space shuttles. We want to discover what’s out there—in our solar system and beyond. Because of the space program, words like “launch,” “probe,” “orbit,” and “re-entry” have become common. And our new heroes include Shepherd, Grissom, Glenn, Armstrong, Aldrin, Ride, McAuliffe, Husband, and many more—Eileen Collins, too.

People have always been fascinated with space. Looking up on a clear night, away from city lights, can feel awesome and overwhelming. Countless twinkling stars and planets fill our field of vision. And in considering the millions of miles to the nearest star, we can feel pretty small and almost insignificant.

But get this: The Creator of everything—each planet, galaxy, quasar, and quark—is also the creator of our tiny planet, Earth. And he takes a special interest in each and every one of the billions of people who live here. That includes you.

Not only did God make you, but he also loves you. To prove it, he came to earth, becoming a person just like you, to die for you (check out John 3:16). So you’re pretty special after all.

Many people haven’t yet made that discovery. We don’t need a space shuttle to find God. We’ll never be able to understand everything about God, who he is, and why he does what he does. But the real discovery is knowing that he lives and that he loves and cares for us.

So look to the skies and celebrate!

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery! (Psalm 145:3).

To Do

Tonight after dark go outside and look into the skies. Try to count the stars. Think about God and thank him for letting you discover his love.

Also on this day . . .

1894—Norman Rockwell, the famous painter, was born.

1959—Rock singers Buddy Holly (22), Ritchie Valens (17), and the “Big Bopper” (28) died in a plane crash in Iowa.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.