Tuesday, September 11, 2012

9-11 We Said We'd Never Forget

Tuesday
September 11, 2001

We will never forget.

Today is
Tuesday
September 11.

I get goosebumps thinking about it.

Eleven years have passed since
the curtain of protection over our country was attacked.
Evil whipped it's destructive finger at us.
We were no longer secure in the United States.
Life as we knew it changed
forever.

Days following 9-11, when the air space was silent, I stood on our patio, looking up at Colorado's clear blue sky, a sight I usually enjoy.
That day it was eerie.
No planes, no jet stream.
Just a hush.

My thoughts:
Life will never be the same.
Never.
The innocence of living in safety are gone.
The world my children knew is gone.

A few months following 9-11 my daughter and I flew to Florida.
Security had changed immensely.
People wondered, weren't we afraid to fly?
No, but the events of September were fresh in our minds.
We weren't naive anymore.

That's it.
We aren't naive anymore.
None of us.

"We will never forget."
It's what we said.
"We won't back down."
"We will be strong."
"This evil will not threaten our nation, our world."
There was an urgency.
We needed to pray.
We needed the hope of a living God.

Here we are, eleven years later.
9-11 was significant to our future.
It's up to us...
We aren't naive.
We have a responsiblity.
There is still an urgency.

II Chronicles 7 :14 says, "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."

There is hope for our nation.
There is time.
It is now.
We said we'd never forget.
We've heard the saying
time heals all wounds.
... If the wounds are treated effectively.
If not, they are left to fester.
They can become infected and can end up worse than they were initially.
The wounds in our land can be healed.
There is a God who cares.
He loves us.
He knows the plans He has for us and for our children.
Plans for a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
But we can't slumber.
We can't sit back and wait

9-11-2012
I stop and remember all those who lost their lives, those who gave their lives to save others.
I think of those whose loved ones whose remains were never found.
Those who are now single parents, raising little children.
Those who were in relationships, just married. Those looking forward to their futures.
I stop and remember those who survived, and who see Ground Zero every day.

Lord, help us not to forget.
Help us not to be complacent or deceived into a sense of false security.
Help us remember our true security is in You.
Every humble heart, every heartfelt prayer that is spoken reaches the heart of God.

Let us not forget.

As we pray, may we be encouraged.
The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16).
Selah.