We Remember

Today marks the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack.  Like many, I remember vividly being a freshman at Peace College and being told the news in class.  The news of the tragedy at 18 and the ramifications of it at 28 are very different things.  I think about what my life has become in the last ten years.  I graduated college, got a job, got married, and had a child.  Each of those events and many other moments bring with them millions of other moments and memories that are held in my heart.  The 9/11 coverage has been especially difficult for me this year, because I think of all the victims and the big and small moments they missed over the last 10 years.  I think of their families and friends who have missed out on the same.

Recently I have been following a blog telling the story of a family who was in a horrible accident on July first.  They lost a daughter and have a three-year-old son with spinal cord injures.  In a recent entry, the mother talked about doing everything "right:" cutting hot dogs, childproofing the house, etc.  They did it all right, and things still went terribly wrong.  That hit me particularly hard as a mother who tries to do it all "right," to the point of questioning how our vehicle would do in a similar rear-end collision.  I know to put my trust in God, but the Devil certainly does have many ways to shake that trust.  I wonder how many victims of 9/11 did it all right too.  They made sure everything was unplugged before leaving their house, wore their seat belt in the car, and looked both ways before crossing the street.  No amount of right they could do could protect them on that horrible day.  The world can be a scary place, but our options seem to be stay holed up or walk with faith.

Don't wait for days like to day to remember, to be thankful, and to live.