Eight-year old Jennifer Wiseman tagged along behind her parents down the road in front of their farm, just as she did every evening on their habitual walk. No matter how many times the family of three and various pets set out under the dark sky, Jennifer always ended up trailing them, her head craned backward to study the stars.
With no city lights within miles, the countryside of her Ozark Mountain home offered a spectacular heavenly view. Jennifer shuffled along, mesmerized.
It seemed as if heaven’s glory itself shone through thousands of pinpricks in the black canopy of sky. Jennifer knew about heaven from her parents and their church community where she saw lived out what was being taught.
Her interest in stars grew as she watched Carl Sagan’s television program, Cosmos.
What would it be like to explore space, she wondered, to stand on a far-distant planet amidst its craters and mountains? To make new discoveries about the universe? Maybe one day I can be a part of space exploration.
That interest remained with Jennifer. But whether to become an astronaut, astronomer, scientist or engineer building space probes—Jennifer didn’t know. So she majored in physics at MIT, since that basic science could be applied in many areas of study.
A few months before graduation in 1987, Jennifer traveled with other students to the Lowell Observatory in Arizona. On photographic plates taken by astronomer Brian Skiff, she discovered a new comet that became known as the Wiseman/Skiff Comet.
Jennifer continued her education at Harvard, receiving a Ph. D. in astronomy in 1995. From Massachusetts she moved to Virginia as a Jansky Fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory to research star formation. Her childhood dream had finally become reality [1].
Currently she is the Senior Project Scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope.
Dr. Wiseman is a sought after speaker because not only is she articulate and passionate about her subject of outer space, but as a believer in Christ she’s a strong defender of exploration as a divinely Christian activity. She sees no conflict between science and her faith, sharing often a quote from John Calvin [2]:
As Jennifer considers the billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars, she recognizes God is responsible for it all, and has been supporting and sustaining this ever-changing universe over billions of years, long before life existed.
For some, that realization fosters a feeling of insignificance, but not for her. Jennifer senses a reverent fear and gratefulness that God engineered the universe to mature over eons of time until at least one planet can support abundant life.
“And I get to be a part of that for just a little while,” she says. “So I’m grateful. It also makes me a little fearful: am I using my time well [3]?”
Jennifer allows her awe to impact her worship as she contemplates her Savior, the one who sustains the universe (Hebrews 1:3). “He’s the one responsible for galaxies, black holes, planets, oceans, and porcupines!” she says.
“When we say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ we must mean that Jesus is Lord of all time and space. Who was the Lord at the Big Bang when Time began? Jesus.
“Who was Lord when the first galaxies coalesced and the first stars turned on? Jesus.
“Who was Lord as our own solar system came into being? Jesus.
“Who was Lord during all the epochs of life on Earth—the Cambrian, the Pleistocene, the era of [early humans]? Jesus.
“And who will be Lord as long as time exists, and forever outside of time as well? Jesus [4].”
* * * * * * * * * *
We do praise you, O God, for the wonders of your universe. Thank you for giving us the capability to study and understand its marvels at least in part, providing opportunity to gain insight into your greatness.
We also praise you for working at the infinitesimal level—in our individual lives. How glorious we can never come to the end of your attentive loving kindness any more than we can reach the end of your universe.
(Psalm 19:1; Genesis 1:27; 1 Chronicles 29:11;
Matthew 10:29-31; Psalm 57:10)
Notes
[1] Meanwhile she married fellow NASA scientist Mark Shelhamer in 1997. They met at MIT when she was an undergrad and he was pursuing his master’s degree.
[2] https://news.belmont.edu/dr-jennifer-wiseman-speaks
[3] https://blog.emergingscholars.org/2013/07/interview-with-jennifer-wiseman-part-2/
[4] www.letterstocreationists.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/how-science-can-inspire-can-inform-worship-jennifer-wiseman/
Other Sources:
https://biologos.org/podcast-episodes/jennifer-wiseman-light-in-space
Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com; http://www.pxhere.com;www.pixabay.com; http://www.stockvault.net; http://www.snappygoat.com; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.azquotes.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.pixabay.com; http://www.wikimedia.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.picryl.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.canva.com; http://www.wikimedia.org.
From the Inside Out 