Space Junk

It seems that the “last frontier” is rapidly becoming a junk yard. “Space junk” refers to the growing collection of debris that is currently found in orbit around our planet. It includes things like spent rocket fuel boosters and satellites that have become useless. Then there are the remnants of collisions between satellites and anti-satellite weapons testing. Astronauts have lost gloves, tools, and cameras during space walks that are now orbiting earth at tremendous speeds. One monitoring agency reports that there are approximately 22,000 objects in orbit that are large enough to track from the ground. Left uncounted, of course, are the numerous pieces to small to be tracked.

This may not seem to be a huge problem until you realize the danger it poses to current space missions. If a piece of debris hits a manned space vehicle, lives could be lost or critical components could be irreparably damaged. A working satellite could be rendered useless by one piece of junk. And it doesn’t even take a large piece to do some damage. A fleck of paint hit the front window of the space shuttle in 1983 and left a pit over 1 millimeter wide. As the junkyard grows, so does the potential danger (Sources: Yahoo News and Wikipedia).

That sounds like life, doesn’t it? There is a lot of “junk” that comes with living my life in this modern world. Some of it is avoidable -- some is unavoidable. But the more of it that I allow to accumulate, the more dangerous it becomes. When I allow “junk” like bad attitudes, hurtful words, and selfish ambitions to remain in orbit around me, I am flirting with disaster. A stray piece of debris can damage my ability to fulfill God’s mission in my life. I can’t afford to hoard my own trash. I can’t afford to become a dumping ground for others. I need to be diligent about cleaning up the “space” around me. How about you? Is your “space” in need of cleaning?

God loves you!
Mike