Back In Black

Psalm 46:2 -- "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea."

When I was younger my Dad would say that there were some moments in life that etched forever in our memories. So strong were these moments that they would never leave us. They would actually become part of what defines us and shapes us into what we are. He would then say that he could remember exactly what he was doing when JFK was shot. I would sit and listen to him tell the story. I could see the sadness in his eyes.

My Dad's Dad could tell you exactly what he was doing when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Well, he could if he chose to talk about it. A WWII vet, he will not bring up the subject and during my entire life I have heard him make a comment about those events all of twice.  And that's a generous count. But you can see it behind his eyes - he can tell you exactly where he was and what he was doing when that unprecedented invasion took the lives of so many young men.

Today, I can sit down with my children and tell them exactly what I was doing on September 11th, 2001. More than likely, every American teen-aged or older can probably say that they remember exactly what they were doing when the twin towers fell. As the television camera panned upward into a bright New York sky, I knew the minute the first plane slammed into the World Trade Center that we were under attack. It was a gut-wrenching realization that forever changed my own patriotism and galvanized my love of country.  More than any other event in my life 9-11 solidified my very American pride.

Shaken to the core as the debris hit the busy streets of New York and dust billowed up into what had been a cloudless sky - our nation was brought to its knees to a degree that it had never been before. Tear stained faces lined every street in our country. The American flag was unfurled in nearly every yard. So many innocent people were lost.


Today - as we are back in black to remember those precious souls we lost to unequaled acts of true terror, I think of Psalms. David's passion and pain expressed in a way that moves the soul so deeply seems fitting on the anniversary of September 11th.

Verse 1 of Psalm 46 reminds us that "God is our refuge and strength - an ever-present help in trouble." While it IS true that so many of those involved directly at ground zero on that tragic day may not be able to say they felt the presents of God during the horror, He was - as He is - our strength. It was on that day that a unified cry out to God could be heard from our corner of the world. It was on that day that some found hope in Jesus for the first time. It was on that day that racial lines were finally blurred and social status became trivial.  9-11 galvanized US. We were not Conservatives. We were not Liberals. We were AMERICANS. We became the lion protecting her cub and stepped up to the plate united in a way that we have never been.

David had it right. God is our refuge and our strength. Therefore, we will not fear when air planes smash into sky scrapers. We will not fear when jobs are lost and debts rise. We will not fear when foreign countries rattle sabers and itchy trigger fingers hover over weapons of mass destruction. Because God IS- as He was - as He always will be - our strength.