Nine years. How is that possible that so many years have passed? War and death and continued threats. The country I love changing in ways that make my heart break. The loss of freedoms staring us in the face, and like frogs boiled slowly to death, few notice or even want to notice. God have mercy.
Here is what I wrote eight years ago:
5:14 a.m. 9/11/2002
I’ll always remember
September 11, 2002. It’s a hard day. Knowing the anniversary was coming has made it a hard past week. Knowing I’ll be flying next week and the security is tightened and the threats are high will make the coming days hard, too. I had a bad dream last night, and I know it’s because of the replay of events on the news.
Fear is the opposite of faith. I choose to have faith rather than fear, but sometimes I have to keep choosing over and over again. Jesus, I believe. Help now my unbelief.
A year ago, I was an innocent. I was naive. That’s no longer true. The wicked choices of evil men changed that forever. As a Christian, I understand that until Jesus Christ returns to earth in His glory to reign, the existence of evil in this world will continue. But as a human being, I still struggle with “Why?”. I want to know why we can’t simply love (or at least tolerate) one another, why we can’t “get along and play nice.” I don’t understand the kind of hatred that makes a few men kill thousands of innocent strangers — men, women, and children — for no other reason than because they hate Americans. I have never understood hatred because of ethnicity or religion. Americans, with all of our faults and warts (and we have plenty of them), are a people who believe in freedom. We believe in freedom of choice, freedom of religion, freedom in countless areas of our lives. It was our freedom that was attacked a year ago this morning. Evil men want to destroy freedom; they always have. They want to strip mankind of hope. We cannot let them succeed.
Here is what I wrote six years ago:
9:54 a.m. 9/11/2004
pray for those in authority
Where were you when . . .
In my lifetime, there have been several of those pivotal, unforgettable moments that are seared into the minds and hearts of many. JFK’s assassination. The Challenger explosion. 9/11.
Three years ago, I sat on the sofa, my heart and mind crying out against the images I saw on TV. I live far, far away from New York City, but on that day, I became in some small way, as did many others, a New Yorker. In an instant of horror too much to believe, my innocence was snatched away from me, never to return. As a nation, we cared deeply for those who lost much. We reached out. We gave to others. For a period of time, we were united as a nation.
Sadly, I think our resolve has weakened with time. We were told that the war on terror would take time and sacrifice and that it would be unlike any war we’d fought before. At the time, the nation said we would take the time, expend the effort. But we Americans are a spoiled, impatient people who want everything in an instant and without emotional or physical cost. We have become a people who are responsible for nothing. We blame all of our bad habits and wrong actions on others (our parents, our siblings, the mean kids we went to school with, the coffee that was too hot at McDonalds). Hateful accusations are flung about with reckless abandon toward anyone who doesn’t agree with our politics or our philosophies or our religion.
When was the last time I prayed for blessing and wisdom for President Bush and others in authority? Too long. Shame on me. I should be doing it daily. If I want to walk in obedience to God, I need to pray faithfully.
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks. Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. (Romans 13:1-3)
The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong. So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being punished and to keep a clear conscience. (Romans 13:4-5)
For the Lord’s sake, accept all authority — the king as head of state, and the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish all who do wrong and to honor those who do right. (1 Peter 2:13-14)
May God comfort those whose memories from three years ago are of the loved ones they lost.
On 9/11/2006, I repeated the above blog with this at the end:
If you would like to pray for the Lord’s protection against and defeat of terrorists, here is a great way to start. Brandilyn Collins at Forensics & Faith is using Psalm 10 for that very purpose.
Here is what I wrote two years ago:
2:05 AM 9/11/2008
i see america
On this anniversary of a day that changed the world, I’m sharing with you this tribute to our American military. It was written, produced and performed by Sandy Riggers, a gal from north-central Idaho.
Here is what Ms. Riggins says about this video:
I See America is a military tribute. I wrote the song about ten years ago with the intention of focusing solely on our troops and veterans. In the last few years I have been piecing together clips from Dept. of Defense videos, etc., to try and include every major U.S. conflict from the Revolutionary War to our current War on Terror. It has been a tedious process, but definitely a labor of love. I hope and pray this tribute will reach a multitude of our precious troops and veterans. God bless them all, they deserve so much more than we could ever give them.
And to that I say, Amen.
May God bless and have mercy on America.
~robin
