September 11

Hey y'all! Remember me!?! I haven't forgotten you. You know those times where everything is going exactly the way you planned it and life is going smoothly and you are keeping the house clean and everyone is going to bed on time and your getting blog posts out and life is just perfect? 
Me either.

August 16 was my last blog post. That's been almost a month. Would you like to know why it has taken me a month to write another post? Me too. In that month we started back to school, had the county fair (if you don't know what that means to a parent with show kids I will explain later), The Milkman had knee surgery (that is a whole post in itself), and quite frankly the world appears to be burning. 

I have thought about blog posts almost every single day, but with everything going on in the world and in my little world my brain has been like a tornado. Some people have nice, neat file cabinet style brains. They can keep thoughts organized and in order. They can form one thought without seven more equally as important thoughts taking over. I am not one of those people. My brain is trying to keep focused on how to get through daily life and all of a sudden, out of nowhere 14,000 other thoughts sneak attack and it starts a full on war in my head. 

I prefer coherent blog posts....so I chose to wait until I was alone and it was quiet so that I could focus. I also chose to wait until I could hear God. Because when I can't sort my thoughts and the storm is raging....my God can calm the waters. The problem is usually me, and I feed the storm instead of listening to that calming voice. 

So here I am. I think I can put words to one of the elements in my storm.


Today is September 11, 2014. It has been 13 years. 

This day is one of those days where you put into perspective how very blessed you are. I didn't lose anyone close to me in New York 13 years ago. But that doesn't change the helplessness, the lost feeling, the sadness, the sickness, that comes with knowing what happened on our soil. I didn't know anyone that rushed in to save innocent lives, that survived, that made snap decisions that made all the difference. But that doesn't change the gratefulness, the pride, the patriotism that I feel when I think about those who spent seconds, minutes, and years making differences all over the world. 

In 2001 each person alive in the United States was changed. That horrific tragedy changed our lives and the lives of each American to come. 

We became aware of a war on the "infidel" that we didn't really know existed. We saw evil that we just shielded our eyes from because that was easier than knowing what was going on in those other countries. We saw evil that we didn't believe existed because we live in an American bubble. We didn't have to read the Bible or a newspaper or a history book to know the unrest because the unrest came to us. The war crossed our boundaries and it took innocent lives that were ours. And it was then that we didn't have a choice but to put faces and feelings with that evil. 

If you ask a Christian they will tell you that we are seeing the end of times. Jesus is coming soon and you better be ready. I won't argue that. The end days aren't going to be pretty or peaceful. People have been calling it the end of days since Bible times. Each generation dies seeing the world worse than it was...no matter how much better we try to make it. We cannot escape what has been laid out. Some call it fate and some call it destiny. Some people don't believe in any of it. I have a few friends who will take the Jesus part out of this blog because that part doesn't apply to their lives. And that's ok...because I have been told that it's my job to share my God, not to shove Him down everyone's throat. I am to spread the gospel and pray for folks, not tell them they are doomed for hell. Because, hey, I don't know their hearts. That's above my pay grade. I have a part to play...I'm playing it. God's got the rest. In Milkmaid #2's words "He can do it awww by hisself!"  (That was all free...no charge...it doesn't necessarily apply to the theme either. You are welcome.) If I hashtagged things this one would read #canyoutellimapreachersdaughter.

September 11 changed our perspective. We turned to God, church, government, friends, family, the Bible, anywhere that we thought we might find some answers and some peace. People that had no interest in news, tuned in. People without emotion, cried. People that had no desire to serve our country, walked into an office and signed their names on the dotted line to serve. We sacrificed in the days after 9/11 like we didn't know that we could. Prayers went up. Churches filled. We learned hard lessons. We gained a renewed respect for service men and women.

Here I am going to shift gears. Not only was my daddy a preacher, but he is also a fireman. He was a volunteer fireman for many years and for a few years now he has held a staff position at our local fire department. I have grown up around firemen, paramedics, and all kind of first responders. These guys (and girls) hold a special place in my heart. The guys that put their lives on the line. The first ones into a bad situation. The people that respond to terrible tragedies. These people see horrible things that you can't imagine. And on 9/11 lots of those first responders and police officers made the ultimate sacrifice trying to save anyone they could. They don't make a judgment call of who deserves to be saved...they just go in and rescue whoever they can. Don't forget to thank the people that rush into the fire and the people that respond to bad situations. Our firemen and police officers in every little town are heroes....even if we don't realize it. And for them...it's just what they do. Nothing more and nothing less. I am thankful for our public servants. 

Anyone that chooses to put their life on the line for my safety and my life is a hero. Our military men and women do a job that I wouldn't even think about signing up for, our firemen, police, and first responders, anyone that volunteers to rush into the front lines. That list is short and incomplete. I'm gonna add one more to it. Jesus. Yep. Jesus. He gave His life so that when mine here is over I can spend my eternity in a peace that I haven't known on this Earth. In the times after 9/11 He brought peace and love in response to something ugly. He gave hope where hope couldn't be found. 

When you turn on your TV or your computer you aren't greeted with happy news and feel good stories. We are bombarded with hate and ugliness. We are being threatened all the time with evil and war. People are being slaughtered for what they believe. Some people's version of hell is played for them on a screen. The end times are coming...I may not see them and my grandkids may not see them, but they are coming. And it is ugly, but I'm not terrified. I am disgusted, but not broken. It has already been laid out. The victory will not be for a country or for a religion or for a few good people. The victory is The Lord's. The good will win over evil. There is not a single part of me that doesn't believe it. My God responds. My God will prevail. 

September 11, 2001 changed everything. It marked our country and our hearts. We became thankful for what we have. Thankful for those that stand up for us, for those that respond to horrific scenes, for those that make difficult decisions to defend us, for our lives. That day showed a strong nation that the evil was coming for it. And our strong nation stood together without irrelevant divisions and told the evil that it may come, but it wouldn't win. Our nation came together and many came to God that hadn't turned to Him in a long time. 

I remember that I was 18 years old. It was my first semester at college and I spent that 45 minutes of driving time rushing through traffic, blaring a new CD, not a care in the world. Until I walked into school and there were crowds gathered around the TVs. Tears and confusion. Sadness. And that whole day was spent watching news reports and terrible footage. And God was there. He was present and if you know Him, you felt Him. He was in every school and every office. He was in all the places we try to keep Him out of. He was there. He is still there. He never left....but our hearts have hardened from that open wound of 9/11. We haven't forgotten, but we have become callous to the evil and hate and we forgot that we need God. 

I have news...and it's better than whatever is on TV....We need God because without him...the evil wins.  The world is burning and Jesus is my first responder. 

That deserves a bumper sticker....