Perseverance and Patience

Roger Crouch was born colorblind. After his application to become an astronaut or military pilot was turned down because of this inborn inability, Roger could have easily justified surrendering to the impossibility of his dream of space travel as an astronaut. His application rejected for over ten years, make that twenty, no; make that an application rejected for over 30 years running did not discourage this man from continuing to apply. By now Roger was a scientist working with metallurgy in weightless conditions and in April of 1997 he realized his dream of space flight as an astronaut/scientist aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

Roger spoke to the teens at Winterfest and acknowledged that while realizing a dream of space flight might be "a" prize, nothing compares to "the" prize God has in mind for us through Christ. When I think about waiting for God to deliver, my timetable is considerably shorter than 30 years. Roger's commitment and determination coupled with the perseverance and patience is truly inspirational.