9/11 - A Day of Celebration and Purpose

It’s another night of chores that I am experiencing loneliness during this deployment. I was washing the dishes and when I do- I usually listen to sermons on my iPod. I realized that tomorrow is September 11, 2011. Ten years after the horrific terrorist attack on U.S. soil at NYC I am washing dishes at night.

The sermon I was listening to the pastor said this {paraphrasing of course} - We can go vegan, drink bottled water, take our vitamins, and exercise, but the simple truth is that we all experience death. We try to ignore death as humans. It’s our culture. And then an unforeseen event occurs and then it’s too late. *He wasn’t talking about 9-11, the message of course focused on salvation and repentance---but ultimately about death and what that means to us-saved or unsaved.

One morning the day after my husband left for scheduled training I was having a normal day- we were stationed in Wurzburg, Germany and I worked at home as a family childcare provider. I was 8 months pregnant with our second son and took care of three other children. I got a phone call that morning and I went to turn the T.V. on -as you probably can imagine or experienced yourself-it was replayed over and over again. I saw the first tower go down. I felt the horror, pain, and confusion of what was happening. On T.V. I saw a women so scared crying and holding her newborn close to her chest overcome by fear and confusion. I cried.

I immediately felt the need to contact my husband, and I did. He thought it was awful, but did not think this was anything close to a terrorist attack and so we chat for a few minutes and then that was it. Some more time passed and the second tower was attacked and on its way down…then I heard of the Pentagon attack and so forth. That was it for me. I sat there and cried some more. I was pregnant, alone and in another country, and most importantly was I unsaved (but I didn’t know it at the time).

A moment later a chaplain came on the AFN channel and made a general statement and then said a prayer. I prayed at that moment. After the Pentagon was attacked, my husband actually contacted me. He told me that everyone’s phones/beepers we going off and everyone was talking about it. They had no T.V. in the field, but they knew what had happened and I will never forget what he said to me, “We are going to war.”

Fast forward ten years…we are still at war and my husband is currently deployed. Here I am again, alone and in Germany. There are three things though that have changed {for the better I might add}:

1. I am now a Saved person (and most of my immediately family is)

2. My faith is stronger more than ever

3. I am still taking care of children, but all of them are mine and we homeschool

There is a lot to be thankful for- I know. It truly upsets me of that the current news mentioned that ceremony for the 10th year anniversary will NOT included any type of prayers or even the mention of God. How sad for our country. It’s on the downhill slope and speeding to destruction.

This is one of the numerous reasons we homeschool. Our boys know why Daddy is gone, they know of the events that happened and the reasons behind it. If tragedy occurs, I want my family with me. I want our family to spend our last times in prayers, encouragement, and song. I remember seeing the movie Quo Vadis, where the Roman Empire under Nero persecuted the Christians at the Colosseum for sport. In the movie, the Christians did not cry out in anger against God, they didn’t ask God why it was happening to them…they stood their ground in their faith and before the lions were released or as they were being burned alive…they sang praises unto God. I want to be that kind of Christian.

So ten years later, even though this war is STILL going, the economy is less than par, and the effects of sin are upon us…I do not fear. Yes, I think about our future— who doesn’t? Hey, we have four boys I’d like to help in raising to be men-Godly men at that. There is that uncertainty because we don’t know what tomorrow brings, but I can tell you this I don’t have fear. It’s like the pastor said: We are worried about the weather so check the weather (almost religiously) in order to plan our future, but that is today and we have no control on tomorrow. So we try to plan for it, but have you planned for the weather in eternity? Wow, that struck a nerve and I am saved, but what about friends and family who are not saved?? That’s where the sadness comes in…

Events in our lives change our path and we make decisions about our lives in order to serve a better purpose. What is your purpose? It’s weird to think that tomorrow, 10 years later to the date, I am again alone (without my husband) in Germany, homeschooling our four boys, but the good news is that now I am saved and I walk by faith and not by sight.

We don’t always know what God has planned for our lives…but we should know where we will spend eternity –for it’s our choice where we end up. His advice: “repent or perish.”

What is that well-known verse: John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Please join me in prayer for the events that happened 10 years ago. I don’t think it’s just a moment in history for only Americans, but for the world. And another thing...I will be at church during this time of prayer...even though it's a day of remembrance of this sad event it's also a day of celebration--my purpose.