The 6th Year

Today is September 11, 2007. 9/11/07. The sixth anniversary of 9/11. The sixth year after the attacks.

Just as I have heard my parents generation remember exactly where they were when President Kennedy was shot or how I remember the night I sat with my family and watched O.J. Simpson elude police in the infamous white bronco, I very much remember where I was on September 11, 2001.

My radio alarm went off and as usual, I hit snooze for what seemed like 1000 times. I was in our first apartment bedroom with my husband of 52 days basically feeling on top of the world in my dazed morning mentality. I remember hearing, not music like I was used to on my alarm, but a very intense reporting voice but the words they were saying were not computing yet in my brain. Then my phone rang and obtrusively interrupted my slow awakening process.

It was my mom and she asked me if I knew what had happened and to turn on the television. I did so and yelled for Daniel to get up and come see this. I flipped between each channel and finally landed on Katie Couric over Peter Jennings. We did not have cable so I only had the main networks to choose from. I remember feeling dumbfounded, a little numb, scared, sorrowful, and so young.

I had to work at The Cottage, an antique and gift shop, from 10am – 6pm so I soon left the couch to get ready. Daniel had the day off from work and I really just wanted to stay with him but he told me to go because all I would do was sit on the couch and watch the TV all day long. When I got to The Cottage, Barry already had a television set up front at the registers and the somber atmosphere was overwhelming. I basically spent the whole day sitting at the counter, watching the television, and feeling what everyone else was feeling.

When I got home that evening, I think we had pizza or something and continued to watch the coverage on TV. I remember watching the President’s speech and being so grateful that it was President Bush who was in office. I had a lot more confidence in his course of action and his character than the previous President. I went to bed that night with my little bubble shattered and holding Daniel a little tighter than before. I think that day was the day I really transformed into feeling like an adult and knowing that from now on, I had the responsibility to act like one.

The LBD Dual Significance: This is the first year that I haven’t been “doing” something else on September 11th. Last year we were flying back from Hawaii for our 5 year anniversary trip. Every year prior, I was working or in school. This morning, I actually turned on the television to see what they were reporting and I saw reports on the mortgage crisis, Richard Gere, and some teen star rather than the memorial type reports I was expecting to see. I’m not really that much into memorializing things but I was a little surprised.

Then I spent some time in Wikipedia looking at the timeline of events and noticed the President’s comments: “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” This brought to mind last spring’s Virginia Tech massacre and the convocation speech given by Nikki Giovanni. Both are truly great speeches according to American standards and I remember thinking highly of both at that time. However, they both leave me with grasping for hope in the pride of my identity…as an American and as a would be Hokie. I actually believe that President Bush could be making a reference to Christ as the “foundation of America” but it still speaks to American pride. Nikki Giovanni mentions that “No one deserves a tragedy” and I know America as a whole did not believe we deserved the 9/11 attacks either.

The truth is, however, that we should expect tragedies such as these. Why else do we need to put on the full armor of God? Ephesians 6:11-13 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

However, as children of God, we receive the gift of his grace with eager expectation. Ephesians 1:5-8 “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.”

So, what do we deserve? I will mention that in a quick search in the ESV BIble, I found 25 uses of the English word ‘deserve’ and none of them were used in a positive context.

I’ll leave you to wrestle with the “deserve” question. And add a few more…

What is your hope in?…

…Is being an American enough to hope in?…

…is being a Hokie enough to hope in?…

…is being “you” enough to hope in?…