Reflections

Hard to believe it has been 11 years since America was forever changed by violent acts of terrorism.  I still remember vividly watching everything unfold on my television at home.  It was a scary time.  Every year I replay it through watching videos and documentaries.  It's incredibly sad, but I never want to forget.  I am so grateful for the amazing men and women that have fought so hard to protect us.

Today I decided I would share with Audrey what happened.  We watched a little bit on TV and a couple of videos online.  We talked about it.  We hugged and cried together.  It was emotional.  I'm sure she doesn't fully understand, but she definitely was effected by the events.  She asked several questions.  My intent was not to scare her, but to inform her.  I believe she handled it very well.

I did watch an interesting documentary today on the History channel on how all of the airplanes in the air were grounded so quickly and efficiently - without a real plan in place.  One of the things pointed out, that I had not realized previously, was the weather.  There were no major storms anywhere across the US where the planes had to land.  That could have been tragic to their efforts in bringing in all the planes.  I see this as one of the "God things".  No one controls the weather, but Him.  Although we may question why He allowed something like this to happen, I have to say that He gives man the freedom to make their own choices.  And, I find comfort in this verse:  Genesis 50:20 -- As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.  We may not even see it until we get to Heaven ourselves, but there is peace in knowing that God can make good from the mistakes men make.  I personally know of salvations that came about because of these tragic events.  People were pulled together that never would have otherwise known each other.  The country, as a whole, joined together in ways that it had not done in decades.  Goodness did come out of a horrible situation.

So, what can we do to honor the heroes and victims of this tragedy?  We've been given another day, in part, to the amazing efforts of the men and women in uniform.  We can enjoy our freedoms and live each day to its fullest. We do what we can to help others and show love and compassion whenever and wherever we can.  Talk is cheap.  We have to "do".  And, that is exactly what we try to do.  What are you doing to live your life to honor theirs?