Photo by Derek Jensen
It is hard to believe that eight years have passed by since the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. It seems like a distant memory.
As every year passes by, more people will either get numb to what happened or they will feel distant from the actual event. Just think about the memorial for Pearl Harbor. Now that several generations have passed by, we feel so far removed from the Japan’s attack on U.S. soil.
On this day of remembrance for the thousands of people who died on the 9-11 terrorist attacks, here are some thoughts that I wanted to share:
2) Live life without regrets. I don’t know why but every time I think about the 9-11 tragedy, I think about all the people who are now living with regret. It might be strange for me to think this, but I think about all the people who didn’t tell their loved ones that they loved them. I think about all the broken relationships that were not mended. I think about all the people that needed to ask for forgiveness and receive forgiveness but did not. I think some of the people who always had hopes and dreams for something great but were always too afraid to live them out. It is often times when we lose someone then we left with thoughts of, “I should have… I would have… I could have…” Regrets in life always put a hole in the heart.
3) Pray for the Muslim world. Living out here in Indonesia, I am getting a better view of the Muslim world. It is so easy to judge or view Muslims in a certain way that might be negative. It is sort of similar to how the secular world lumps all the Christians together as bigoted, narrow-minded, right-wing fanatics. But I am finding out that the Muslims here in Indonesia, by and large are wonderful people. There are definitely things that we do not see eye-to-eye on, but there are a lot of commonalities such as their respect for their elders, love for the family, the desire to be holy and live a righteous life, their compassion for the poor, and etc. We need to start praying that God will open their eyes to Isa (Jesus).
4) Honor and thank those who are serving in the military or who have served in the military. There is still a war going on in Afghanistan and Iraq is trying to stabilize. As many people gave their lives to serve our country in the current and previous wars to ensure our freedom, we need to learn to honor them and thank them for their service. I am always encouraged to hear about the various stories of people signing up for military service after what happened on 9-11. It is by God’s grace that we have not been struck with a terrorist attack for the last 8 years.