Your Finest Hour

Your Finest Hour

Thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession.

2 Corinthians 2:14

In April 1970, the command module Odyssey for the Apollo 13 lunar mission was crippled by an in-flight explosion. A slight miscalculation could have sent the ship spiraling thousands of miles off course into outer space. Even if navigation back into earth’s orbit succeeded, fears remained that the heat shield and parachutes were not functional. In addition, a tropical storm was brewing in the landing zone.

It’s at this grim point in the movie Apollo 13 that a press agent for NASA, recounting the many dangers facing the crew, asks an official for more information. Clearly stressed, the official snaps, “I know what the problems are. It will be the worst disaster NASA’s ever experienced.”

A NASA chief overhears this pessimistic assessment and responds sharply, “With all due respect, I believe this is going to be our finest hour.”

A mixture of fear and hope etches the faces of the NASA team, friends, and family of the astronauts as they watch for any sign of a successful reentry. Three minutes after the reentry process begins, Walter Cronkite’s voice informs the viewing audience that no space capsule has taken longer than three minutes to complete reentry. A NASA employee continues to attempt to contact the Odyssey, saying, “Odyssey, this is Houston. Do you read me?” The silence is agonizing. Suddenly, the receiver at NASA crackles. A capsule seems to materialize out of thin air on the screen, and the parachutes look like giant flowers that have burst into bloom.

A voice responds loud and clear, “Hello, Houston. This is Odyssey. It’s good to see you again.”

After that, few would dispute the opinion of the NASA official who said it was their finest hour. After all, the times that test one’s mettle are the times the human spirit can shine the brightest. That’s true not only of efforts like the space program; it’s true of marriages, too. Your finest hour is not when everything is going well and you’re on easy street. Truly, your finest hour is when times are tough and you stick it out, fight for your marriage, function under pressure, and make it to the other side—triumphantly.

If you are going through a difficult time, remember that there is no better cause than the person you have sworn to love, no more valiant goal than to fulfill the vows you made to your spouse. Though it may feel like your worst disaster, it is when you begin to fight for that cause and that goal that you will experience your finest hour.

A difficult crisis can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose—a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve.

—John Maxwell