Never Forget

“The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 
 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Psalm 36:10-11

  Beside this verse in my Bible I have written- “Sept 15, 2011 read aloud at church after WTC, Pentagon, PA tragedy.”

  We were living at Camp Pendleton in southern California where my husband was stationed.  Our children were little- preschool age.  My brother-in-law, also a Marine, called me and told me to turn on the TV.  I knew instinctively that our lives would change from that day forward.  I knew we would go to war.

Ten years and, for our family, 4 deployments later, we are still a country at war.   My children, and countless others, have never known any other life. I have been so thankful, however, that we are a military family at this time in history.  Never before has the military family been so supported and provided for.  There are countless programs for children and families to help ease the pain of deployment and handle the challenges of reunions.  We have been blessed by overwhelming love and appreciation from friends, family, and church and sometimes even strangers.  The American people seem to understand the profound sacrifice that is being made by such a small percentage of our population, and I am grateful.  So, as difficult as it is to look at footage and be reminded of the horrific events of September 11, 2001, we must.  We cannot forget. We cannot become comfortable.  We have an obligation to remember and continue to support those who willingly put their lives on the line, and families on hold for the good of the country- whether they are in the military, law enforcement, firefighting or dispatchers. 

I recently read an article in Time magazine, sent to me by dear friends of ours.  It is called the New Greatest Generation and it details the resilience of military members who have returned home to lead and serve in their communities.  It is an encouragement to me.  God allows good things to come from bad circumstances.  As Joseph said to his brothers, who had sold him into slavery years before, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20. 

We mourn the lives lost on September 11^th but we are not without hope.  We also rejoice knowing that for many people, that event became the guidepost marking a time in their life when they either encountered God for the first time or renewed their faith in Jesus.  Tragedy points us to our frailty and to God’s saving power.