When the Computer Said Keep Going

On July 20, 1969, with the lunar module Eagle descending toward the moon's surface, the Apollo Guidance Computer began flashing alarms no one expected. Error 1202. Then 1201. Again and again, the tiny computer — with less memory than a modern calculator — was being overwhelmed by too many tasks running at once.

Mission Control fell tense and quiet. But here is what made the difference: software engineer Margaret Hamilton had designed the computer to handle exactly this kind of overload. When the system was overwhelmed, it did not crash. It dropped its lowest-priority tasks, preserved the essentials — navigation, thrust control, altitude — and kept running.

Twenty-four-year-old engineer Jack Garman in Houston confirmed the call: "We're go on that alarm." The landing continued. Armstrong touched down with seconds of fuel remaining.

The writer of Hebrews understood this same principle centuries earlier: "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (Hebrews 12:1).

When life overwhelms you — when the alarms are flashing and everything feels like too much — perseverance does not mean doing everything at once. It means shedding what does not matter and holding fast to what does: your faith, your calling, your Savior. Drop the lesser loads. Keep your eyes on the essential. And by the grace of God, you will land.