9/11, Ten Years Later

September 11

Ten years. Long enough for newborn babies to have become fifth graders. Long enough for fifth graders to have become college sophomores. Long enough for new relationships to have been forged and for some old relationships to have dissolved into irreconcilable differences. Countless new lives have come into being and countless others have passed away.

Ten years is long enough for some old hurts to have been healed and for some scars to have become totally invisible. But some memories are beyond washing away; they are indelibly stamped upon the psyche and there is no expunging them. Such are the memories of 9/11. We cannot forget where we were, who we were with, what we thought, how we reacted, or the shock and dismay we felt at the news—graphically depicted through the media—that three thousand living, breathing people just like us were suddenly gone.

Some were gone, literally without a trace, disintegrated into nothingness by an intensity of hatred most of us cannot even fathom. Though they are whole in the hearts and memories of those who love them and though they are forever alive in God’s scheme of eternal life, there is no denying that they are gone because there is mindset of evil that was unleashed upon us and on our way of life on that fateful morning, that until then, we had been unaware existed. And there has been nothing since that time that has set it on a more moderate course. So how should we feel in light of this on-going threat?

Of course, we must be ever vigilant. We cannot allow ourselves to again be caught unaware, to again be attacked and slaughtered. But we must remember, too, that the only true counter to evil is goodness and the only force that can conquer hatred is love. May we who survived that horrible day, be ever mindful of its significance and may we always allow the One who is the Prince of Peace to reign in our hearts and minds so we can be vessels through whom His love and truth may be poured—especially upon those who are lost in the darkness of hatred and deception (Luke 6:27).