9/11
Inasmuch as this was a defining moment in our nation's history, it was a defining moment for me as a follower of Jesus. I wrote this the evening of 9/11 after I returned to my dorm at University of Houston following a time of prayer at our Baptist Student Ministry.
Dangit, I still get a little choked up thinkin' about it. I gotta' go find some Kleenex.
Right now, I can't help but think of today's events... the images I witnessed on television, the sounds I heard as the footage was played over and over again, each time with more and more added to the story. I am shown the surreal image of a plane, flying at top speed, directly into the side of twin buildings that I had always seen part of the New York City skyline. And the recurring thought that stays firmly in my mind is, "These are the kinds of things that are only supposed to happen in movies... these are not supposed to be real life…." Motion picture companies pay thousands of dollars to try and achieve these images on film and make us believe they really happened… and yet, it just did. Here in the United States, we have been attacked in our homes, in what is the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil.
The reality is beginning to set in that thousands of people lost their lives in less than an hour of carnage that spawned from hatred and evil in its worst form. It is beginning to set in that the twin World Trade Center towers will never again grace a sunrise or sunset on the cityscape of New York City. It is just now coming into my mind that the Pentagon building had been a symbol, as much as a building, of our nation's strength in my eyes.
I have to say that right now, as I sit here at 1:30 AM writing this article (not what I had originally planned to write on) and still thinking and praying over the events of the past few hours, that my mindset and emotions are probably very similar to a majority of Americans.
I am saddened. I am grieved for those whose lives were taken during this tragedy. I can sympathize with their families and the heartache and wondering that they will face in the coming days, months, years. My heart goes out to those who were in the buildings and their families who will be hoping and praying for the safety of loved ones as the days go by and rescuers continue the search. And I feel a grievous sense of pity for those who perpetrated this act. Whatever massive fraud they were tricked into buying into by Satan… I cannot have a more profound sense of pity for them.
I am angered. Like most Americans, this is something that has struck deeply to the core of every man, woman and child in this great nation of ours. One of my first, human reactions was to want; no, demand retaliation… no matter the cost. I symbolically stand shoulder to shoulder with my President, as he appears again and again on television, vowing to "hunt down" those responsible. And yet, even as I do this, a still, small voice asks me to pray for those who did this… I stop and think about what must have been going through their minds.
And then I stop and think about what God must be thinking… looking down at all this playing out. Do we really know what He's thinking right now? Even though God is not an American, He surely must want us to strike back, right?
Or is He sitting there right now… I can imagine it: God, the Father, the Creator is seated at a simple wooden chair. He is watching these events play out and listening to the cries of His creations… His children… and He is weeping.
He is weeping and desperately hoping, with the hope that only a parent can have for a wayward child, that His children will turn back to Him in one of their greatest times of need. And His tears and hopes are not only for His American children, but for those children who are of whatever ethnic group that the attackers are from. He is weeping and holding out His hand for each and every person on this planet and as some grab hold and others try to reach out, it is our place and our responsibility to remember that we are the precious children of a loving, caring Father God.
He did not desire this nor did He ordain this, though He will be glorified through it. An it is times like these that we are reminded to come before Him and sit at the feet of His simple wooden chair and just let Him love us… unconditionally. To let us cry against his rough, callused hand and then for Him to comfort us as we ask "Why?"
And in the midst of a tragedy that was unimaginable… that was unspeakable… I strangely feel at ease knowing that my Father is listening and responding to the cries of His children.
"and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and
pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
- 2 Chronicles 7:14