Never Forget -- 2012

It was a day that began like any other day.  September 11, 2001.  Trying to beat my brother-in-law, who lived with us at that time, in the daily race for the bathroom so I’d at least have SOME hot water left for a morning shower.  Trying to rouse my husband and both children while doing the dance of making coffee, making breakfasts, making school lunches, feeding the dog. 

My brother-in-law left the house at 6:00 AM, my husband at 7:00.  At 7:30, I kissed and dropped off my son, a third grader then, and my daughter, a kindergartener at the same elementary school, at their before-school program and away I went to work, stopping at the Dunkin Donuts in my building’s lobby for caffeine reinforcement.  I greeted everyone who was in the office (many were scheduled to be out at a conference that day) as I trudged towards my workstation all the way in the back.  I powered up my computer, turned on my radio, sipped my coffee and proceeded to peruse the pile of paperwork that had collected in my Inbox since the day before.

It was a day that began like any other day.  September 11, 2001. Predictable. Forgettable.  But early on, I – along with the world – would see that it would quickly turn into a day that was anything BUT predictable and forgettable.

It was a day that would change people’s lives – forever. 

Today, we are a country minus so very many people because of the death and destruction that occurred on that day, eleven years ago, when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the field in Shanksville, PA.

We are a people minus beloved family members and friends; employers and coworkers; teachers and students; neighbors and members of our communities and our churches.  

May we NEVER FORGET the shock, the horror, the anger, the fear, the sorrow, the disbelief and the confusion that we all felt as so many of us watched the tragic events of September 11 unfold before us.  May we NEVER FORGET the realization that as proud as we are to be Americans, we are not untouchable.  We are not immortal.  Tomorrow is NOT promised to us. Mortal man – though he tries – cannot help or save us.

No king is saved by the size of his army;

    no warrior escapes by his great strength.

 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

    despite all its great strength it cannot save. ~ Psalm 33:16-17

May we never become so self-serving, self-sufficient, self-righteous and complacent that we forget Who is in control and in Whom we can place our hope and our trust when tragedy strikes, when wars break out, when the enemy encroaches upon our land and our people.

May we NEVER FORGET, on that day of chaos and death, to Whom so many of us looked; to Whom so many of us ran; to Whom so many of us called and cried out:

Our Creator.  Our King.  Our Father.

God.

Not man.  But God. The LORD, God.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in humans.

 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

    than to trust in princes.~ Psalm 118:8-9

On this anniversary of 9/11 – and for that matter, every day – please NEVER FORGET to pray for the lost; to pray for our country; to pray for our troops.

And last, but certainly not least, NEVER FORGET to pray for our leaders, now and for those who will lead in the future. You may not like their political affiliations. You may not agree with their policies. You may not share their faith.  You may not even care for their personalities, their accents or their outward appearances. 

But as God-fearing, God-following, God-LOVING people, we are called to put such things aside, take the higher road and entrust them ALL into the watch care of our Father God. 

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. ~ Psalm 20:7