A Week of Remembering

For me, this week every year is a week of reflection and remembering. This year the reflection was even more profound with the tenth anniversary of September 11th being so highly publicized. It seems everyone was reflecting on where they were ten years ago when the terrorist attacks took place. I was at work at SWBTS. My boss came in shortly after 8:00 and asked if I had heard about the first plane crashing into the tower. I turned on the radio and soon heard of the second plane, so I hurried over to the student center to watch the news footage on the tv. I saw the twin towers fall and the breaking news of the other two plane crashes, one into the Pentagon (in the same vicinity where my dad's office had been a few years back) and one in the Pennsylvania field. I joined my SWBTS classmates and coworkers for prayer in the chapel. My patriotism ran strong, but my faith swelled stronger...

Today is a less-observed remembrance, but important and powerful nonetheless. One friend posted on facebook that today is "A day to remember friends gone too soon, a day to remember lives spared for God's purposes, and a day to count the blessings of friends, the goodness of our Great God, and His faithfulness to those who grieve." Twelve years ago, on Sept. 15, 1999, a gunman entered my church, Wedgwood Baptist, during a youth rally and took the lives of seven young people (injuring seven others), before shooting himself. Like other significant events (such as 9/11 and the Challenger explosion), I clearly remember where I was when I heard about the shooting - the fact that I was called into work at LifeWay that evening kept me from being at Wedgwood that night. In a day before everybody had cell phones, it was a nightmare trying to get in touch with friends to make sure they were alright. I left work as soon as I could and hurried home to watch the news coverage late into the night. When my home church heard about it, they recorded an interview with me to play on Sunday morning - I spoke about Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Wedgwood was dealt a staggering blow that September day, but the Lord has worked for good even in the pain and grief. Today we recognize the blessings even as we remember the pain.