I was 16 years old, a junior in high school. I had skipped school (yet again) because I had the worst morning sickness ever. Of course I told my mom I think it must be a really nasty flu... My mom called the house looking for my sister, Nikki. She was surprised to hear my voice answer the phone, but was too upset to be mad.
She told me to hurry and run down to Nikki's room and wake her. I didn't want to do this for 2 very good reasons. 1- Nikki's room was in the dark and creepy basement. It smelled musty and had a LOT of steps. I was sick and lazy.. ugh. 2- Nikki was not the most fun person to wake up. She was like a dragon and who in their right mind wants to wake a sleeping dragon?!?
So I gathered myself, because as terrible of a teenager as I was- I was still pretty scared of my mom. I went down to the creepy dungeon and I began to wake the dragon. (Don't get me wrong, my sister is much better now at controlling her temper, even when she is tired- but she wasn't so good at it at 10am when she was 19 years old...) When she peered at me through one half-opened eye and started gathering her strength to begin the process of killing me, I quickly handed her the phone. Whew... close one.
After a second or two she seemed confused. She seemed trying to process whatever it was my mom was saying. She turned on her television and didn't have to search for a channel. The same thing was playing on every single one. I sat next to my sister, not truly knowing what I was watching. It was live news coverage of 2 buildings. One was burning and I was trying to put the pieces together to understand why.
Ok, I will admit that I was not then, nor am I now, very interested in current events. I didn't (at the time) know what the Twin Towers were. I didn't know where they were or their significance to our nation. I had no idea about any of it. I could've told you the words to the latest Top Ten songs on the radio, or what happened in the most recently released movie. But, outside of that- and myself- I didn't know much and I didn't really care to.
By the look on my sister's face, I could tell this was a horrible occurrence. I could see my sister getting more upset by the minute, as this reality sunk into her semi-conscious brain. As we watched, a large airplane flew directly into the other building. It was like watching a movie. This couldn't be real?! Who would do such a thing?! There were people jumping out of the buildings. Not falling.. jumping. I couldn't imagine what that must have been like. To be there and experience such panic. Such an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. To jump to my death in order to save myself from being burned alive.
As ignorant as I was to the events of September 11, 2001, I am very well aware now. I have seen the dramatic turn our country has taken since that day. We went from comfortable, to shocked, to grieving, to vengeful, to bored. I think it important that we never forget that day. That we reminisce on the events and the many lives lost. 2,996 to be exact. That's how many people died on that day. That's how many lives were stolen.
God calls us to forgive. No matter what and no matter who.
Matthew 5:44
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
We must forgive, but we must also be wise enough to prepare and protect ourselves. Protect our country from something like this ever happening again. Those 2,996 lives should not have been lost in vain. As of December 2012, there was about 6,650 American soldiers who died in war resulting from that day. Their deaths should not be in vain either.
So, let's not be vengeful, but wise instead. Let's support our military as they fight to protect the innocent. Let's actually pay attention to who we vote to lead us. Let's forgive those who have wronged us, and choose not to be prejudice against anyone who may have originated from the same place our wrongdoers have. Most importantly, let's not allow our Father to get pushed aside anymore. Let's not ignore the One who never ignores us. Let's hold tight to our faith and trust that He will see us through.
***And if you are wondering where I stand on war as a Christian, this about sums it up.
No comments:
Post a Comment