Inspire

INSPIRE

by

Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (October 26, 2015)

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16-17, King James Version [Paul's charge to Timothy]).

Greetings In The Holy Name Of Jesus,

My sisters and brothers, I would like to say I speak to you today to inspire you to the greatness of God that made you. I would like to inspire you to feel the power of Christ Jesus and reach to ministries that God gifted you to bestow upon all of us, for the prophecies of your coming was not a private matter and you are called to inspire the peoples of the world in order to draw them closer to God than they ever hoped possible. I would like to think of the woman who was inspired in a new land known as the New World now a new creature who studied the sky, the stars, the galaxies, and the planets, with little regard for her time here on earth relentlessly applying her knowledge to manage her two projects for NASA to know more about Galileo's mission to Jupiter and the European-led Rosetta mission---a soror of mine. Somehow, by knowing her name---that she was in my same sorority I felt a closeness yet I never met her---this trailblazer born on May 30, 1959, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Santa Clara, California, who was the first African-American to manage projects for NASA, notably Dr. Claudia Joan Alexander (AOSS PhD '93), whose sister, also a soror, a journalist by profession---world-renown, spoke highly of her older sister inspiring the youth of today through her writings of books, travels, and works at NASA, recently died on July 11, 2015 at the age of 56..

I first learned of her works after she passed away fighting breast cancer, from another soror journalist on a local dialogue program in southwestern Georgia created to provide African-Americans with current information about the world they live in. I discovered this mindset of reflecting on the sky---the heavens and the firmament above for the first time---this passion for Galileo---her major mission in life which now brought on greater importance to my own life as I look up at my night's sky, which made me reflect on the lonely road she traveled just so she could study Galileo and the Rosetta---so much so that she did not marry nor did she have children because it was hard to become one with a man who felt that to become one was to hold a second place to her mission in life---her ministry works in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). In my lonely nights here at my family's farm, I think about this woman---one of my sorority sisters who was inspired of God to know more about the greatness of His works with Galileo and the passing down of man's work, also inspired of God with the Rosetta. For me, my night's sky at my family's farm seems so close to me---much closer than I have noticed the skies at night in other locations that made me feel so small---so far away from God's wonders but at the farm estate I almost feel I can climb up to the sky---that is how close it seems to me at night. I wish I shared my sky with my soror before she passed but I know she had the best seat in the world traveling from one space laboratory to the next throughout North America, Europe, and the world to see her Galileo but I still wish she shared this rather special view with me from the eyes of a research scientist specialized in geophysics and planetary science.

I think possibly amazement would not have escaped her at how close the night's sky appears here.

With that said, I would like to share inspiration of God to see the bigger picture while walking in your neighborhoods and communities to inspire our youth of today to God's greatness all around us, near and far. There is a man who is traveling to South Africa to speak about his mission---matching teenagers with corporations to increase the workforce (labor) of our global society and of course, his works towards helping his State of Maryland and City of Baltimore micro-manage their youth of today to achieve greatness to look to Dr. Alexander's Galileo---to see the greatness of God in South Africa---a part of our motherland, a part of the dark continent, beneath the horn of Africa and God's purpose for their own lives, how they, too must step into God's perfection through Christ Jesus to make a difference 2

in their lives, their families lives and in the lives of their neighbors, near and far. Now this man is a cousin of mine.