Remembering 9/11: A Day of Horror and Tragedy

Sept. 11, 2001 will always be one of those, “Where were you when…?” days, similar to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; the space shuttle Challenger exploding and killing seven crew members, and other tragic events of like magnitude.

 

What were you doing on this day 22 years ago? Do you remember? For most of us, what we now refer to as “9/11” started off just like any other day. We were working, leaving for work, going to school, finishing breakfast, or engaged in any number of everyday life activities. Who knew that before 10 that morning, the world as we knew it would be turned upside-down?

No one could have imagined the horrific scenario: Commercial jets being hijacked and slamming directly into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth diverted from its intended target by courageous passengers, crashing instead in rural Pennsylvania. 

This memorial fountain at the World Trade
Center includes names of people whose
lives were lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

Nearly 3,000 lives were lost that day, including more than 2,000 in the iconic towers that incredibly were reduced to rubble, as well as hundreds of first responders, and the 19 terrorists coordinating the attacks. 

We now have a whole generation of young people who basically know nothing about that evil day because they were too young or not born yet. But for those of us who helplessly watched live news reports as the tragic events unfolded, that day will remain etched in our memories forever. 

 

I think of my friend Jerry, an entrepreneur who had worked in the North Tower for years. He would have been on one of the building’s top floors that morning if he had not overslept. Instead, he was sitting in his kitchen reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee when one of his daughters frantically called to see where he was and if he was safe. Even to this day, the memory of friends he lost that day saddens him.

 

For a brief time following the attacks, our nation seemed to experience a spiritual revival of sorts. Many thousands thronged to churches, some of whom rarely if ever had attended before. Countless prayers were offered as realities of the heinous acts raised questions that seemed unanswerable. At moments like that – faced with life’s fragility and the heightened sense of evil’s presence – it’s common to become desperate for hope.

 

As often happens, however, within weeks our lives had returned to “business as usual,” despite newly enforced security checks that would dramatically alter travel experiences and other measures enacted to prevent future acts of terrorism. 

 

Without becoming morbid, we should use this day to pause, remember, and reflect on things that matter most. Not the football games played last weekend, the weather, what’s on our calendars, or even the perpetual political wrangling that seems beyond resolution. 

 

Things that seem so important today will one day cease to be. We’re assured of this in James 4:13-15, which says, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you should say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

 

It’s good to recognize how fleeting earthly life is – and how uncertain. We’d also be wise if we took to heart Jesus’ challenge from His sermon on the mount: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

 

As the old saying reminds us, “You can’t take it with you.” But we can send it ahead – things that will endure for eternity – as Jesus’ admonition suggests. 

 

On Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of men, women and children had plans for later in the day, the next week or the next month. In a flash, their plans were changed for eternity. This sounds hauntingly like 1 Corinthians 15:52 which says, “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye…the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 

No one knows exactly when that will be. But that day will come, as certainly as the sun rising in the east and the sky being blue. Will we be ready?

It Helps When We Know How Things Will End

With football season only a couple of weeks away, avid fans are anticipating the excitement, anxiety and uncertainty that starts with the opening kickoff and continues until the final seconds tick off the clock. The excitement comes from watching athletes competing against each other, seeing them perform at levels that average guys like me can’t even imagine doing. We marvel at their strength, speed and skill.

 

The anxiety and uncertainty, however, are caused by not knowing the final outcome of the games. Especially in rivalry games, or contests when the teams seem evenly matched, nails are chewed, feet paced, TVs yelled at, and things even get tossed in frustration. When the favorite team falls behind, we wonder, ‘How will they be able to catch up?’ Even when our team is in the lead, we fret over whether they can hold onto the winning margin.

Would our nerves be on edge and emotions so close to boiling over if we knew the outcome in advance? Of course not. If you’ve ever recorded a game to watch later and took a peek at the final score, viewing the replay didn’t make you as nervous. Right?

 

It's similar with watching a fast-paced movie thriller or reading a riveting murder mystery. The suspense keeps us on edge, even if we have a strong suspicion good will conquer evil at the end. But if we’ve read the “spoiler alert,” or if someone has already told us it was Mr. Mustard in the library with the candlestick who did it, we’re not as likely to hear Carly Simon’s “Anticipation” running through our minds.

 

These days there’s lots to feel anxious and uncertain about. Covid-19 has become the virus that refuses to go away, despite the vaccines, masks, social distancing and shutdowns we were told would deter it. “Inflation” has returned to our vocabularies, with prices for gas, groceries and just about everything going up. Many of us have decided watching the news isn’t good for our mental and emotional health, with the relentless gloom-and-doom, “the sky is falling” reporting. Living in constant fear and doubt aren’t good neighborhoods.

 

We find ourselves on edge, our tension levels high, because in life – as in sports and entertainment – we often don’t know how things are going to end. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some way to be able to turn to the last page and learn everything is going to work out?

 

Actually, there is a way. One many people choose not to use. It’s the Bible, which candidly and honestly records humanity’s faults and failings, but also presents God’s solutions – including a happy ending. In fact, Jesus Christ declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). 

 

He also asserted that by following Him, we can have confidence things will end very, very well. Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms…. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

 

Fear and uncertainty regarding the future have been a common companions throughout history. Writing to Christ followers in ancient Corinth, the apostle Paul gave this assurance: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed…then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’… But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:51-56).

 

Because of this great, unwavering promise, we can embrace for ourselves the admonition Paul gave to his young protégé, Timothy, reminding him, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

 

So whenever we find ourselves feeling fearful or anxious, for whatever reason, we need to remember God has already written the ending to this grand story. It will be glorious, more joyous than anything our finite minds can imagine. 

We read in the final book of the Bible, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-4). 

Don’t you just love happy endings? 

If Tomorrow Were the Last Day?

Most procrastinators embrace the motto, “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?” Sometimes that works for me. Realizing how much concentration and energy a project will require, doing it another day can have certain appeal. At times like that, emptying the dishwasher or going out to the mailbox seems easier than enduring the necessary mental agony involved with the creative act of writing – or the frustration of taking on a tedious household chore.

However, procrastination isn’t the antidote for every pressing deadline, responsibility or obligation. Sooner or later, things need to get done. Postponing them only increases the stress once we finally get around to doing them. And some things just can’t wait.

Recently I read a brief article about a noted author who had written a book about the Apocalypse, the end of days. The interviewer closed by asking him, “If it were the end of days, what might you do?”

The author quipped, ”I would write faster. I would have to learn to touch-type.” But it was his next statement that grabbed my attention: “I’d want to play with my 3-year-old a lot more.”

Ponder that for a moment. If he knew the end of days was upon him, then he would feel inclined to play more with his young child. However, since he didn’t think the “end of days” was imminent, playing more often with the 3-year-old apparently didn’t seem as urgent. It could wait.

I see several problems with this perspective. First, for all we know, the end times could indeed arrive tomorrow. It will happen, according to 1 Corinthians 15:52, “in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye.”

Jesus also warned, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:42-44).

Second, even if the biblical end times doesn’t arrive for a long time yet, each of us face a personal “end of days” that might not be as remote as we suspect. Lots of people have left behind calendars filled with plans and commitments, totally unaware of how little time on earth remained for them.

Most important, 3-year-olds don’t stay 3 all that long, as I’ve discovered. Soon they’re 4, then 5, then 10, then teenagers. And suddenly, almost before we know it, they’re adults, married and starting families of their own. The time to take advantage of special moments is now, not tomorrow or next week. Especially with children.

This reminds me of the classic tune by Harry Chapin, “Cat’s in the Cradle.” In case you don’t know it or have forgotten, it’s about a father whose child “arrived just the other day…. But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay….” And in the meantime, the boy was growing up. The father missed pivotal moments, like first steps and first words, along with many potentially happy times together.

At the end of the song, the father ruefully realizes opportunities have been squandered, wonderful memories have never been created, and when he finally has time for his son, the son is too busy with his own life. The boy had always said, ”I’m gonna be like you, dad” – and he’s done just that.

A couple of weeks ago, one of my grandsons came to the house, wanting to “spend some time with Pop.” I had reading I’d intended to do, but remembered the day will come when he no longer feels a need to be with me. So I put my book down, and he and I played a game, threw a Frisbee and a ball around for a while, and pushed some toy cars down our driveway.

Earlier in my life, while pursuing a successful career, too often I was like the father that had planes to catch, bills to pay and deadlines to meet. Unique moments with our daughters that I wasn't around to experience couldn’t be saved for another day. I’m sure I missed even more than I realized. Hopefully, I’m doing a bit better with our grandkids.

Ephesians 5:16 talks about “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” That doesn’t mean time itself is somehow evil or bad. But it never stops moving forward. There’s no pause button on the clock or calendar. Time waits for no one. Just as a coupon usually has an expiration date, after which it can’t be redeemed, special moments in life also expire. 

So we better cash them in as soon as they present themselves, because tomorrow, even an hour or five minutes from now, it may be too late.

In one way or another, the end of days will come sooner than we might think. What is it, if it were the end of days, that you would want to do?