Don't Forget to Pray - My Thoughts on 9/11 Anniversary
Can you feel it? The air is heavy with something deep and dark. I guess since we've been hearing it on the news all week leading up to today's five year anniversary to the tragedy of 9/11, it's on everyone's mind - whether or not they were directly impacted.
It's kind of like that feeling I used to get when I knew a test in school was coming and I was not prepared as well as I would like to be. I mean, the threat of it happening again seems as likely now as it was before we knew about it.
The truth is, this enemy of America, these terrorists, are very difficult to deal with. Our highly trained military armed forces can deal with any enemy army anywhere who play by "the rules." Knowing that these people wear civilian clothes and blend in with school children and hospitals is only adding to the lump in my throat.
I remember the way I felt the day it happened. I had just arrived the night before in Atlanta to attend a tradeshow for work (along with tens of thousands of other people). I had just turned on the TV to help me to wake up. Suddenly on the news, they showed one of the towers on fire. "Some kind of accident" they kept saying as the smoke billowed from the middle of the famous building. As I watched, the second plane was seen smashing into the other tower... and suddenly we all knew this was no accident.
I semi-sat up in the bed, leaning on my left elbow. Rivited to what was happening and the non-stop news coverage, I stayed in that position for about two hours (causing some incredible kind of pain when I finally tried to move) before it dawned on me that the tradeshow was supposed to have started about 30 minutes ago. I wondered if anyone would actually be there...
On my way to the convention center, my mind turned to how to get home. All the airports were shut down and rental cars were going fast. Atlanta to Tampa was suddenly a long way from home. I got to the convention center to find out the show was basically cancelled. What now?
As it turns out, my brother had been in the air at the time and his airplane was diverted to - of all places - Atlanta. We had no idea the other was in Atlanta until I called my parents later. He had just called her the hour before. So - I called Alan and found out where he was staying. I went over and hung out with them for a few hours.
Fortunately, I found out that my brother-in-law was on the road and would be passing through Atlanta on his way to Tampa within a few hours. Hooray! I'm saved. I was never so happy to see him. And, the back pain I felt all the way home was nothing compared to the pain and suffering those people in NYC felt.
Anyway, as I read about trust in the book of Ruth, my thoughts were drawn to how much more we need to trust God. This morning I committed to praying for our nation and our government every day - along with my children and family and friends. Still, it's very easy to feel helpless and hopeless about the whole situation. Nothing seems to be getting better. What now?
I'm reminded of that famous passage in 2 Chronicles 7:
"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chron 7:14Don't forget to pray...
peace,
e
