Strength for today....bright hope for tomorrow
Topic: People/Family stories
I was struggling to write a post in remembrance of 9/11/01. Everyone had written beautiful pieces and I felt like I had nothing more to add. I would just let this day pass with no post on this page. Then this morning, as I did devotions with Maggie before school, we came to our prayer time. We always stop to think about things we should pray for.

I asked her if she knew what 9/11 was about. No....she had only been 4 years old when it happened. So I tried to explain it to her. I didn't know that by the end of my explanation, I would be sobbing, especially while telling her of the flight over Pennsylvania. The people on that plane knowingly sacrificed their lives to divert another attack.

How do you tell a 9 year old child about the events of that day in 2001 when America became vulnerable and weak. A handful of people murdered so many people in 3 different states with such malice....and it was personal to each one of us. We didn't know what to do or what would happen. We just stayed glued to our televisions, trying to stay informed, trying to gain some reassurance that we were safe.

And we prayed.....everyone prayed. On television they prayed, in schools they prayed, people wandered into churches wanting to pray.

It was eye opening to me that I still had such strong emotions deep down inside. My general outlook on life is to move on. I want to learn, grow and then think about the positive after something bad happens. I think a lot of my processing of 9/11 was stunted because we had a tragedy in our lives and church 2 days after 9/11, when our friends' son killed himself. The fragile, vulnerable feelings had consumed him and when one last straw was put on his back, he cracked and very impulsively ended his life. He didn't know that life would go on and be good again. He didn't see hope.

It's what makes us carry on in times like these.....we hope...we can see past our present suffering to a brighter future. When we despair, if we just wait it out, we gain our hope once again.

"This too shall pass."

In Isaiah 32, we read:

14 The fortress will be abandoned,
the noisy city deserted;
citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever,
the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

15 till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
and the desert becomes a fertile field,
and the fertile field seems like a forest.

16 Justice will dwell in the desert
and righteousness live in the fertile field.

17 The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

18 My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
in secure homes,
in undisturbed places of rest.


There IS a hope. God promises us hope throughout the Bible. One day we will be without sin and madness.

quietness and confidence
peaceful dwelling place
secure homes
undisturbed places of rest

These words were meant for such a time as we now live.....
to bring us hope.

Concentrate on these things today if you are feeling the remembrance of evil too strongly. And remind your children that there is hope. Help them to have hope....

Related pages:
Children respond to 9/11 through art
Resources for helping children deal with disaster