We Will Never Forget

As I sat down to write a post on daily organization today, I quickly flipped over to my Facebook page to get the low down on the morning's happenings. Immediately, I was reminded of the day. September 11. As a freshman in a Tuesday morning Introduction to Music Therapy class at the University of Kansas, I had no personal connection to the tragedy which occurred on the 2001 morning. But, I'll never forget a fellow student who announced that her dad worked at the World Trade Center. She left the room crying after the radio told of an accidental plane crash. We attempted to go on with class as usual, and when I got to the dorm a few hours later, the truth was beginning to come out. This was no accident. This was intentional. This was far more horrific than anyone knew a few hours earlier. So now, this day is a day to remember.

There is a firm difference between dwelling on past tragedies and remembering past tragedies. Dwelling and obsessing about terrible earthly events does not allow God's healing to run it's rightful course. Dwelling on tragedy makes us depressed, fearful, angry, bitter, and revengeful. But, dismissing awful calamities that affect us all during our time on this planet can have nearly the same dreadful consequences. Horrific things happen because we live in a fallen world. Pain is real. Physical death is part of life. Evil has a foothold as we wait for our Jesus to return. But, if we go to His Word, God doesn't dismiss tragedy. In fact, read below:

"But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up." 2 Samuel 15:30

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance...Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4

"Jesus wept." John 11:35

The Bible, our instruction book, instructs us to not only acknowledge pain and heartache, but to grieve with each other. Like me, you may not have personally known anyone who lost their life on that fateful day, but we do know that this day, September 11, is a dark day in our great nation's history. We are encouraged by God to weep with those who weep, and to mourn with those who mourn.

After becoming a mother two years ago, I have a new perspective with mass tragedy, or tragedy of any kind for that matter. Every single person who died that day was somebody's child. Every single person. Because each of us reading these words has the heart of a mother, we can offer a new compassion for those women who lost a child. We can pray that "...the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard their hearts and their minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7 We probably cannot do a lot from our homes scattered around the world, but we can pray specifically for all of the mothers who lost their children.

Don't shy away from remembering tragedy. Turn to God's word for instruction on how to appropriately grieve, yet maintain great joy for another day in which we are each alive and well.

Today and everyday...