Eight Years Ago ...

I'm remembering today ...

Remembering what my children cannot recall.

Remembering what I sometimes wish I could forget.

Remembering the innocent lives lost.

Remembering the bravery shown.

Remembering how life was before 9/11/01.

It's hard to believe it has been eight years now ... eight years since the terrorist attack on our nation that brought down the Twin Towers, four airplanes filled with innocent people, damaged the Pentegon and caused our nation to fall to its knees.

Memories are a good thing … a treasure and a gift from God. Throughout the Bible, God instructs His people to remember. He told them to build monuments in memory of an event and to pass on the memories to the younger generations. So pausing on days like today and thinking about what happened is good for our souls, even though ...

Sometimes memories are painful. We think about what has happened and realize that our hearts are still a little raw and sore … that there are places in our soul that need still need a little healing. We are perhaps taken back by the sting of remembering ... caught unaware by the flood of emotions that comes tumbling out once again.

As painful as remembering might be, I have also found it to be true that the more we remember, the easier it is to see how the blessings have flowed out of what was so terrible. And somehow, when we see and acknowledge the blessings that came about as a result of the awful and unimaginable, those raw and tender places begin to heal. Out of that healing comes peace with the past and fear is put to rest.

It's hard to believe it has been eight years now ...

I'm remembering today ... for as painful as it sometimes is to remember, it would be more painful to forget.

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How many songs can I sing to proclaim your wondrous love and beauty so great?
What would I say if you brought down the rain and everyday
I walk through the pain my heart would still say…
Your name is Jesus. Your name is Jesus.
You’re the Wonderful, Counselor, my Friend.
You’re what I hold on to; I know that you brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross
you knew ... I’d need a Savior.

lyrics to "I'd Need a Savior" by Among the Thirsty