The question has made the rounds on Facebook. It is on the news and in the paper. It is the question that future elementary school students will ask their parents in preparation for a history report. Everyone who is asked will know the answer. Where were you ten years ago today?
I was at home, dressing for a funeral. A cousin of "he who wishes" had moved on to the next phase of his journey through eternity, and it was right and proper for us to remember him. The national tragedy on every one's mind would not keep us from honoring this fine man. I do not know what his religious views were, but I knew his morals and ethics. He was married to one woman. He was the father to two fine men. He was the grandfather to several...I do not know how many. He farmed, he hunted. He was a respected member of his small community. He was the very definition of "salt of the earth." He had that slow, soft drawl that resides in lifetime southerners of his generation. He was kind to my son, and if I could have loved him for only one reason, that would have been enough. So, we honored Grey. We offered our condolences to his wife, Eloise. We appreciated all those who pulled over to the side of the road in respect for a man they never met as we made our way from funeral home to cemetery. It was calm, respectful, and dignified. It was in spirit, a million miles from the chaos going on in other parts of our country. I am grateful to have known him. He was an American hero.
I do not really remember what I did in the balance of that afternoon following the funeral. I assume that I watched television in shock and horror like the majority of people were doing. I do remember going to church that evening. It was the only place I wanted to be. My children were both living in Georgia. I prayed that someone was holding them close. I went to my OC family. The service that night was one of disbelief, grief, and petitions for comfort and miraculous recoveries.
And, then we praised God. We did not praise Him for planes that brought down the twin towers. We did not praise Him for a plane crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. We did not praise Him for scenes of a smoldering Pentagon. How could we sing praises for those events? We could not. But, we praised Him, for we believed that He would turn our mourning into dancing, somehow, some way that we could not even fathom. We had faith that even in the midst of such pain and human wreckage, He would work, and His purposes would be served.
Ten years later, I still have that faith. I know there are those still mourning. Our whole country continues to feel the pain of that day. Many have died in the past ten years. They have died in both cowardly and brave ways. They have been killed. They have killed. Most deaths that have occurred in the past ten years had no connection to 9/11. The families have mourned their loss. My family has mourned its losses in these years as well. And, still we praise Him ~ this God of the universe ~ this God in whose image we are all made ~ this God who is mindful of each one~ this God who attends to our needs ~ still we praise Him.
So for today, in the midst of your memories, I wish you a spirit of praise for the Father who will set all things right, and
blessings
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