Twenty-Five Years Later -- We Remember

September 11, 2001.

Twenty-five years have passed, yet those images remain etched in our memories. We remember where we were, what we were doing, and the disbelief we felt as we watched our nation endure the unthinkable.

Most importantly, we remember the nearly 3,000 precious lives lost that day. They were husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, friends and coworkers who never came home.

For their loved ones, September 11th isn’t simply history. The empty chair, the missing voice, and the milestones experienced without them remain deeply personal. Today, we pause to honor them and pray for the hearts that still carry that loss.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” —Psalm 34:18

We also remember the stories of those whose lives were spared because of seemingly ordinary interruptions -- a headache that required a stop for medicine, a broken shoe, an illness, a delayed train, or a child who made a parent run late.

Ordinary inconveniences became unexpected protection.

How often do we grumble over a delay, never realizing that God may see what we cannot? Sometimes the detour we resent may be the very thing that protects us.

September 11th also revealed extraordinary courage. Firefighters, police officers, first responders, military personnel, medical teams, and ordinary citizens ran toward danger to help people they had never met. In one of America’s darkest hours, love turned on the light.

A dear friend, Kathryn Grant, once issued a beautiful challenge to older generations: “Take up arms” -- not weapons of anger or revenge, but loving arms placed around our children and grandchildren. Arms that reassure, comfort, pray, and remind them not to be afraid.

We have lived through grief, upheaval, and uncertainty. Yet God has sustained us. We are still here, and that means we still have a purpose.

Today, let us remember. Let us pray. Let us thank God for another day -- and use it to become hope-bearers.

When hatred shouts, may love speak louder. When fear rises, may faith rise higher. And when sorrow lingers, may we lovingly put our arms around the hurting and remind them:

God is still with us.

#September11 #courage #Godiswithus