BOOK REVIEW: High Calling, The Courageous Life and Faith of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband
By Evelyn Husband with Donna Vanliere
On February 1, 2003, our nation experienced the traumatic explosion of the NASA Space Shuttle Colombia. There were no survivors.
This book tells the amazing story behind the amazing commander of the Colombia, Rick Husband.
Even his name denotes one of the HIGH CALLINGS he felt for his life, the calling of being the best husband he could be for his wife, Evelyn, who wrote the book within a year of losing him.
He also wanted to be the best father he could be for his two children, Laura and Matthew. They were approximately thirteen and five, respectively, when he told them goodbye just before going into quarantine before his final flight. His wife was forty-four. The book is dedicated to their children.
By tracing the events of Rick Husband’s life, we can trace the work of the Holy Spirit in Rick’s soul.
When his little soul was four years old, he had already set his goal on one thing—to be an astronaut. He honed that dream by setting his aim to do whatever it took to reach it. For example, he reserved marriage to the lady he loved until he could complete five years of college to meet NASA’s requirement of an undergraduate degree in engineering. He memorized NASA’s list of requirements.
But God interrupted Rick’s earthy ambitions while doing one of NASA’s requirements. God has many times had to “slow walk” one of His children to get his/her attention or become better acquainted. For example, He gave Moses some time on the back side of the desert. Two of His choice servants, men of integrity,—Old Testament Joseph and New Testament Paul—were given unjust prison time. Much like the little injured lamb must spend time in the shepherd’s bosom while it recovers, a saint must dwell close to God while he learns some valuable lessons. Sometimes an illness or an isolated location does the work. In Rick’s case, he was “minding his own business” by doing a NASA exchange student program in England when God set up a detour that changed his whole life.
During that three-year detour in England, Rick and Evelyn’s lives went into slow motion—compared to the American pace. During that time, they found two accountability partners, Angus and Carole Hogg, Scottish mentors that helped to deepen their commitments to the Lord. Evelyn had time to have daily tea with the female mentor, Carole. Evelyn and Carole started a women’s seeker group, and the two couples did a monthly couples’ program. The Husbands hosted it with others teaching.
But most importantly, it was in England that Rick laid his life-long ambition to be an astronaut on the altar. He saw that if he reached his goal but lost or forfeited his family in the process, his accomplishment would be meaningless. So, he found a new goal—to be the best husband and father he could be.
His new goal was evidenced in how he left work at work, how he played with the children at home, and how he left dad devotionals on videos for them when he was in space. He and his wife spent quality time together.
All the above was accomplished while doing an excellent job fulfilling his duties for NASA. He was still an astronaut because Rick found that God did not change his long-lived ambition to be an astronaut. Rick still felt a “green light” to pursue that career along with his family commitments.
Where did the NASA commitment and his Christian commitments take him? First, he was promoted to the rank of commander of the Columbia Space Shuttle after only one flight into space. Usually at least two are required for the position. Secondly, his Christian faith could not be overlooked in his demeanor and in the choice of a wake-up song that was nationally broadcast, “God of Wonders,” a beautiful song by Steve Green about the God of the galaxy. He also sang solos in his church choir. His wife calls a song on grace his theme song, “Were It Not for Grace.” p. 129.
Rick spoke openly about his faith when asked to speak at events. This astronaut’s faith just shot evolution down with remarks like these:
Even if you look out at the universe and all the stars, our solar system—all the order that is there, and the fact that the planets orbit around the sun, and the way that the different galaxies behave, all the different interactions that are there…I don’t believe that’s something that just happened by chance….It’d almost seem you have to have more faith to accept that it happened by chance than to accept that God created the universe. (pp. 97- 98)
And what were the results of his fathering? His daughter remembers how he stopped everything to care for her problem with head lice (pp. 136-138), cherishing the time with her and telling her how beautiful she was. She wrote a note on her calendar on February 1, 2003, that continued down the page:
My dad dies as the best dad in the whole world! I love him so much and I will see him in heaven. He died as a hero and he loved my family sooo much. He loved Jesus and he led me to Christ. He loves Jesus with all his heart and said and did everything he could to get us to love Jesus as much as he did and still does. I love you, Daddy! Love, from your biggest fan and daughter, Laura. P. S. My goal will try to be like you and do everything you taught me and witness…. (p. 181)
Later that year Laura had time to jot down her thoughts more completely about her dad. Here is her young teen tribute to him:
When I think of my dad, I think of how he helped me take my first steps and then years later talked with me about boys. My dad was a loving father who told me very often that I was beautiful…. One of my memories of Daddy is the way he would put sunscreen on me. He would try to put it on gently, but sometimes it was still too rough and he would call himself a rough, old bear…. He helped me accept Jesus when I was four years old. I am glad that his priorities were straight by putting God first, his family second, and work third. …. He used to be in choir in church and sometimes would sing solos or sing in quartets. One of my favorite songs he sang was “Man of Sorrows.” I was blessed to have such a great dad even though it was a shorter time than I would have liked it to be….But, I am so glad to know that he is safe in heaven and that I will see him again and this time we’ll never have to say good-bye. (pp. 226-227)
And for evidence that his life helped his wife, one person said that he found Christ as a result of seeing Evelyn’s peace after Rick’s death. Their love for each other was such a comfort to their daughter that she confided in her mom that even their love for each other made her glad that their marriage had ended in death rather than divorce. She had seen divorce cause ongoing grief in some of her friends.
At the time of the tragedy, our nation had a president who was not ashamed of his faith, George W. Bush. His remarks to our grieving nation were reinforced with the words of the prophet Isaiah.
My fellow Americans: This day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country… In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (pp. 175-176)
We don’t have to have an illness or a three-year stint in England to totally yield our dreams and hopes to His. We can daily lay everything down on His altar and reach for His best plan for our lives.