Tues, Sept 11
... And where were you?
Kat's mom phoned this morning, just as I was waking up and starting to get ready for work. She wasn't up yet; she didn't have class until 11 this morning, so she was sleeping in. 5 minutes later, I was in the bathroom, brushing my teeth, when Kat came to the door and said, "There are terrorist attacks on the U.S. They bombed the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, and the whole country is shutting down." The first thought that went through my head was, "This can't be real." I don't know if anyone knows about it, but many years ago, in the 50's or something, there was a radio program that was all a joke about aliens attacking the earth, and people being vaporized and stuff like that. It was just a story, but it was broadcast like news, and people went crazy. They went nuts trying to save themselves and their families, and then the radio station had to broadcast a retraction, saying that it was only a program, because all these people were going crazy. Anyways, that's honestly the first thought that went through my head. And then after about 5 seconds, I realized that it wasn't some huge practical joke on the entire world; that it's real. I got to work, and of course that's all anyone can talk about... There's a TV in Cyndie's office, because she's not here today, and people are in there whenever they can spare the time to watch. I don't think many people have gotten anything done at all today. It's definitely crazy... This is one of those things that you'll always "remember when." Kathy and I were talking about how, in our parents' generation, it was "Where were you when JFK was assassinated?" For us, to this point, it's been, "Where were you when you heard that Princess Di had been killed?" or "Where were you when you heard about Columbine?" Now, this adds another dimension to it--another event that we'll mark time by.
God, protect your people. Comfort people who have lost because of this, whether they've lost family, friends, health, innocence... whatever. Bring your perfect peace and your perfect love that casts out all our fear. Give wisdom to the leaders. Give them the ability to deal with this in the way that you want them to. Don't let them compound the problem in unnecessary ways. Heal this world, Father. Heal these nations.
infinite || abyss
posted at 11:58 a.m.
