Finding Peace in the Tragedy That is 9/11
BIBLICAL POINT OF REFERENCE:
“The LORD’s face is against evildoers to wipe out their memory from the earth. The righteous cry out, the LORD hears and he rescues them from all their afflictions. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed.”
~Psalms 34:17-19
On a day like today, I feel obligated to write in part on the tragedy that took place in our country 17 years ago. Obviously, I’m not the only one to feel this way, so let me try to approach this from a different angle: How old were you when 9/11 happened? Were you 10, 20, 50? Younger? Older? Somewhere in the middle?
I wasn’t even 5. I didn’t even know it had happened until a year later when my family was saying our night prayers and my parents told us about it. I would continuously hear about it and the affect it has had on our country year after year, until I was about 16. At that time, I traveled to New York City with a school group and saw Ground Zero for myself.
What I remember of that visit will probably shock most. I walked into a place that had been struck by terror, and yet, I didn’t find fear, anxiety, or any kind of disturbance.
Instead, I found peace.
People were slowly walking around, marveling at the beautiful square-shaped marble memorials that had waterfalls inside, calmly falling, never stopping. The outside hustle-and-bustle of the large city couldn’t be heard as men, women, and children quietly thought and prayed through their emotions about that terrible day. I had my new, big-girl, DSLR camera with me, and I tried to photograph the feeling of peace that surrounded me.
What a blessing to have been able to witness such an event. Having been so young when the attacks on our country took place, I will never know what it was like to be there, to be fearful, or to be terrified about what would come next. But what I do know is that we take a different approach to the aftermath of this horrific tragedy: We choose peace. We choose to honor the lives that were lost, and to set aside this day every year to remember that we need peace now more than ever. We choose to build a place to commemorate the brave heroes and heroines who were willing to lay down their lives for strangers and friends alike.
America has its issues, but this memorial isn’t one of them. This day, September 11, is a day that we stand united as citizens and human beings. The power behind that is indestructible, and it is worth celebrating.
To the lives lost, we pray continually for your souls, that you may be resting with our Lord for eternity.
To the friends, family, and loved ones of those lost 17 years ago, we support you fully in your recovery and in your healing.
To our country, we remain uplifted in the peace that we hope to one day create for ourselves and for the world.
May we never forget this day, and may we never forget the peace that only God can give.
Your Laughing Sister,
Callahan
