- John Glenn
John Glenn's legendary mission happened February 20, 1962, when he boarded the Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7. This mission lasted only 4 hours, 55 minutes, as he orbited the earth three times. We cannot begin to comprehend the training and discipline he had to go through to prepare for this seemingly short mission—one that would impact all future space travel.
Glenn's experience not only changed the world, it changed him. It gave him a new view of the world, a broader perspective on his life and his priorities. You see, his mission was not perfect. His life was threatened when his heat shield for re-entry came loose.
His mission proved so heroic that after he landed safely back on earth he was honored with a ticker tape parade, much like the one thrown for Charles Lindbergh after he had flown the Atlantic in 1927.
God has a great number of assignments for your life. You will have many missions. You will learn some of them from His Word, such as reaching the lost, and some of them from the Holy Spirit, such as reaching out to a particular person.
Some will last your lifetime and others for short periods of time. Many will not seem legendary to mankind, but every assignment completed for the kingdom of God will be legendary to YOU and to HIM.
If you are serving God with your whole heart and obeying His directives daily, you are, right now, fulfilling your legendary mission. Perhaps, like John Glenn, you need to go on a journey above the circumstances of your life just now.
Get God's perspective on your place in His scheme of things. Look over the vast expanse of the universe and begin to imagine all the great and glorious things God has planned for you.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing
Born Carman Licciardello, he began recording under his first name and released his debut album in 1980. Carman began charting contemporary Christian hits in 1984 with "Sunday's on the Way," reaching No. 1 with "The Champion" (1986) and "Radically Saved" (1988). His other hit songs include "Lord of All," "Jesus Is the Light," and "Satan, Bite the Dust!" Carman reportedly holds the world record for the largest audience at a Christian concert. His popularity was at its height in the 1980s and early '90s, but he continued releasing albums for years, including his most recent release, 2014's "No Plan B." In 2018, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
