A Convergence of ‘Coincidence’

Tomorrow marks the 11^th anniversary of “9/11,” one of the most horrific single events in American history. Many of us can readily answer, “Where were you?” when we learned that terrorists commandeered three jets filled with passengers and slammed them into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Repercussions continue to reverberate in many ways today, ranging from tight security at airports and public venues to prolonged U.S. involvement in Middle East conflict. Across the nation, our sense of safety and security remains severely wounded, perhaps never to heal. Any new threats of terrorism spikes our collective anxiety level.

But whenever I think of 9/11, I’m reminded of my good friend, Jerry, whose question about that day is, “Where weren’t you?”

Because Jerry should have been in the North Tower, perhaps on the 74th floor where he used to work. A headhunter in the investment industry, he had moved his office to Wall Street weeks before. But his routine was to commute from his home in Bayonne, N.J., ride a subway to the bowels of the World Trade Center, and then take an elevator up to 74. There he would check for mail that might have been left for him, as well as visit with friends, before descending and walking to work on Wall Street.

That morning, however, Jerry was nowhere near the World Trade Center due to a convergence of events some people would consider “coincidence” or luck.

About two months earlier, his wife, Camy, had died unexpectedly of an abdominal aneurysm. She had been Jerry’s “right hand,” on whom he relied for many things – including the high-tech clock radio she’d given him the previous Christmas.

The night of Sept. 10, Jerry had stayed up to watch his beloved New York Giants play in the “Monday Night Football” game. The contest ended late, so Jerry set the clock radio’s alarm to awaken him the next morning. As it turned out, he failed to set it correctly. “I never knew how to work that thing,” he said. “Camy always did it for me.”

As a result, the alarm did not sound as planned and Jerry overslept. Having no pressing appointments that morning, he decided to spend a leisurely hour drinking coffee and reading the morning paper in his kitchen before making a later commute.

So when United Airlines flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, and less than 15 minutes later United Airlines flight 175 speared the South Tower, Jerry was miles away in his home, by that time watching with stunned disbelief as the unthinkable events unfolded.

Coincidence? Luck? Jerry thinks not. Years before, a garage near the World Trade Center was bombed on the floor where he and Camy usually parked their car when both went to work in Manhattan. That day, however, Camy was ill, and Jerry had decided to remain home to care for her. So 9/11 was not the first time his life had been spared.

A devoted follower of Jesus Christ, Jerry believes God chose to protect him. While understanding he is not better or more worthy than thousands that lost their lives that day, including some of his friends, he trusts in the God who declares, “I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Ironically, Psalm 61:3 says of God, “For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.” That was certainly true for Jerry 11 years ago. He knows that's not a guarantee of immunity from hardship. Camy’s passing, while a factor in Jerry’s being spared on Sept. 11, 2001, demonstrates that.

But it does offer followers of Christ assurance that God is with us every moment of every day, unfolding His sovereign plan for our lives.

Today, Jerry has remarried. He and his wife, Gracie, know without question he’s still here not because of coincidence or luck. It’s only because of God’s grace.

‘Where Were You . . . ?’

Where were you when the horrifying events of Sept. 11, 2001 unfolded? This question ranks in importance along with similar questions of another generation:

·       Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?

·       Where were you when you heard that Elvis had died?

·       Where were you when the space shuttle Challenger exploded?

Each of those tragedies has helped to define and shape us as a society, in one respect rocking the foundations of our seemingly placid existence, in another forcing us to re-examine our core convictions, values and beliefs.

When the incredible scenes of 9-11 took place, I was at work, sitting at my desktop computer. I don’t recall what it was I was writing. Within the context of the day’s, whatever it was – no matter how vital – seemed inconsequential.

Who can ever forget the images of the North Tower, officially known as One World Trade Center, smoke billowing out, and then minutes later seeing the second jet slam into the South Tower, casting aside any speculation that the first was just a horrendous accident?

A friend of mine, Jerry, worked on Wall Street and would have been in the North Tower that morning except for oversleeping after staying up late to watch his favorite team play on “Monday Night Football.” It had been his custom to get off the subway, take an elevator to visit friends on the 79^th floor where he used to have an office, then leave for his business that had moved down the street.

Ironically, another tragedy probably spared Jerry’s life on 9-11. His wife, Camy, had died a couple of months earlier of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Only weeks before she had presented Jerry with the high-tech clock radio he failed to set properly to awaken him that fateful September morning. So when the jets slammed into the towers, Jerry was at home in Bayonne, New Jersey, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the morning newspaper before heading to work a little late.

Needless to say, he didn’t go to work that day.

Mountains of words have been written about 9-11, its aftermath, the war on terror that has been waged ever since, and the impact still reverberating for individuals and families directly and indirectly affected. Just as occurred following the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bobby Kennedy and other heinous events, 9-11 stripped away another layer of our society’s collective “innocence” (and perhaps, ignorance), along with any semblance of a Pollyanna spirit and trust in human purity we ever had.

But if there is a positive to be found, anything beneficial, it’s the necessary reminder that one day we all will die. It might not be in calamity that generates headlines and news reports around the world. But our time here on earth, one way or another, is limited. So we should cherish every moment.

As Ephesians 5:16 tells us, “make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” The moments of our lives appear and flee just as quickly, never to be enjoyed again.

Amid the sadness of 9-11, let’s rejoice in today. We won’t see it again. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).