Perseverance. \ pər-sə-ˈvir-ən(t)s \
Noun. Continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition
Perseverance, NASA’s Mars rover, made perfect landing on the Red Planet on February 18, 2021. Sending a rover to Mars had been a challenging endeavor. Perseverance journeyed 472 million kms to get to Mars. The rover went through the Mars atmosphere at almost 20,000 km/h before the descent module fired its engines at a precise moment while the navigation system became activated to identify a safe landing spot. After that, a 70ft diameter parachute deployed to slow the rover further before the landing sky crane system began its task of lowering the rover the rest of the way to the ground for a gentler landing. Since its arrival to Mars, Perseverance already captured amazing photos of the Red Planet and collected rock samples to be brought back to earth. The data collected will help scientists understand more about the geological makeup of Mars.
The rover’s name, Perseverance, was submitted by a seventh grader Alexander Mather in NASA’s rover naming contest that received 28,000 entries. Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate from NASA, went to Alex’s school to congratulate him as the winner of the contest. Dr. Zurbuchen said that “Alex’s entry captured the spirit of exploration. Like every exploration mission before, our rover is going to face challenges, but it’s going to make amazing discoveries.” Dr. John McNamee, project manager of the Mars 2020 from NASA said, “I see all the dedicated men and women [from NASA] who for years have invested the full measure of their intellect and stamina into the most technologically advanced rover mission in history – and I saw a lot of smiling faces and high fives. Perseverance? You bet, that is a worthy name that we can be proud of….”
The Bible says this about perseverance in the Book of James, chapter 1:
“2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything……12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
I am proud of the Resonance Church community for having perseverance. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our church community continued to persevere and remain faithful in serving the Lord through serving our brothers and sisters in Christ and our neighbors around us. For the past 12 months, despite barriers and challenges that we were presented with because of the pandemic, we found innovative and creative ways of continuing to serve in our respective ministries. In addition to intellect and stamina, we were able to draw upon God’s wisdom and strength in continuing our mission of Connecting Friends for Life.
We don’t know how much longer in this pandemic we need to persevere for. However, we know that we need to “let perseverance finish its work so that [we] may be mature and complete.” Our eyes are upon the goal of persevering through the difficulties and obstacles that we encounter in this pandemic, so that when we return home to see our Lord Jesus Christ, we will be greeted with: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23)
Connecting Friends for Life
Resonance Church exists to connect and journey with others into a life transforming relationship with Jesus Christ
References:
- Definition of perseverance. Merriam-Webster Dictionary Website.
- Rovira, L. Touchdown! Perseverance lands successfully on Mars. Space. Feb 18, 2021
- Potter, S. Virginia Middle School Student Earns Honor of Naming NASA’s Next Mars Rover. NASA Press Release. January 4, 2021.
- James 1: 2-4; 12. New International Version
- NASA Instagram Photo. Feb 19, 2021.