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| My Sweet Family Just Outside the Astronaut Hall of Fame |
While thousands of people look on in wonder and cheer for their sons and daughters of exploration, the spacecraft itself is enduring nearly impossible conditions. In every launch, there is a moment when the conditions are the most critical - a point known as Max Q. Max Q is a point in the launch when the vehicle endures the maximum mechanical stress. Max Q will make or break a launch, and how it is navigated is all the difference between a landing site and a debris field.
This term came to mind today as I talked myself down from an anxious moment contemplating my future - what it will be, where it will be and when it will begin. With hands still shaking and taking in long breathes, I couldn't help but think, "This is my Max Q. Things are about to either take off or fall completely apart." (At that heart-racing moment, I was having a hard time coming up with any option in between.)
I think a lot of people go through times like that when they feel like they're enduring as much as they can endure and life is about to get infinitely better or shatter into a million pieces. In the midst of the uncertainty though, I think the reality of Max Q gives us three things to help us navigate major changes in our life, so here they are.
Max Q is determined by two factors, velocity (speed and direction) and air pressure. So what is your velocity in this moment of change or launch? Are you moving too fast? Do you need to put on the brakes somewhere in this decision-making process? Throttle back and consider some godly counsel? I have had to! I was racing toward a mountain of debt that would have been paralyzing in my future. I had to pull back and reconsider how quickly I was moving in that direction.
Velocity, however, is not just speed - it's direction as well. A change in direction, decreases velocity. So in Max Q, are you headed where you really need to go? "Direction not intention determines destination." Will the path your feet are on take you where you need to be? I'm having to course-correct in a couple of areas of my life. In some areas, I was way off course. In some, I just needed just a tweak, a matter of mere degrees to optimize for the long road ahead.
The other component of Max Q is air density. What is the atmosphere like in the midst of this stress point? This part of the equation is the easiest to correct. What control do we have over the conditions of the actual atmosphere? None. What control do we have over the condition of the spiritual atmosphere? A lot. In my Max Q, I needed to create an atmosphere of Word and Worship to center my mind on the goodness and faithfulness of God. An atmosphere of divine expectation instead of dread can be created with what we choose as our meditation, and an atmosphere of worship will also be peace and grace to our hearts.
Finally, be encouraged by that term maximum mechanical stress. In Psalm 139 the psalmist was encouraged to know that God knew His "frame". God knows how you're built, what kind of payload you can carry and what your maximum mechanical stress is. You have been designed according to His specs and the circumstances of your launch or breakthrough are not a surprise to Him. He created you for this.
I don't know if you find yourself at Max Q along with me. If not now, maybe you've been there or will be someday. Watch your speed, adjust your direction and create the right atmosphere and you can endure the maximum mechanical stress. You will more than survive Max Q. You will go where you're meant to go, do what God designed you to do. And there's a whole community of people lumbering out of their offices, pulling over on the highway, watching and cheering you on. I'm there with them. You're going to make it, and it will be awe-inspiring!