After spending a lot of the morning with teenagers who weren’t even alive on 9/11, it was nice to look back at the picture and postcards from the first time I ever saw New York City and the World Trade Towers at 5 years old when my family got to host a group of Japanese tourists (including the one giving me a ride on his shoulders). My dad said he thinks I’m in front of a NYC jewelry store, but I’m sure I just thought it was cool that it had my name on it! I’ve been to NYC several times since then, both before and after 9/11 and, like so many others, can remember right where I was on that day when I first heard what was happening.
My heart goes out to the many people who lost loved ones that day and in the military conflict that followed. It’s important that we remember and respond to that memory, not in hatred or anger but with a passion for their memories and for the cause that they gave their lives for. Let’s never forget what it cost for our freedoms and way of life.
2 Samuel 7:1-2 says, “And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.” God had blessed King David and given him freedom and rest, and David took the time to remember how he got where he was.
Let’s always honor and remember the sacrifices made on 9/11 and the days after. Let’s allow those memories to fuel our passion for making our nation everything it should be, and let’s never forget that it is ultimately God Who has blessed America and paid for eternal freedom from sin for all who will accept His offer of salvation.
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