It may sound cheesy, but honest to goodness, I'm an astrophysicist because of Star Wars.

Lots of folks complaining about how Star Wars sucks now (and there is indeed a fair degree of suckitude at the moment), but I will forever be grateful for how Star Wars opened my heart and mind to the wonders of outer space.

I was nine years old when my dad took me and my brother to see The Empire Strikes Back at the theater. That was exactly the right age to be blown away, enchanted, utterly spellbound by what I experienced in the theater. The visuals, the music, the story, the characters. All set in a galaxy I'd have given anything to visit.

I know Star Wars has nothing to do with science, but seeing the Millennium Falcon roaring through space made me conscious of the wider universe for the first time in my young life, and these movies filled me with a sense of wondrous adventure about it.

I became obsessed with space after that. Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, Cosmos—I couldn't get enough. My life from that point was firmly dedicated to becoming a space scientist.

Little did I know that nearly twenty years later, my work in astrophysics would lead me straight to God and a total change of my atheist heart.

I’ve written several articles about Star Wars and how it still influences my view of the world and my faith. This one is probably my favorite.

I owe the Star Wars universe a lot—it opened the door to a career I love and to a God I love even more.

So, May the 4th be with y’all.