Remembering Who We Are On Sept 11th

10 years ago today, I was waking up in Bismarck, ND with my friend and colleague Karla.  We had travelled in late the night before from Minneapolis to do some work on the Dakota planes and so we were getting ready a little later than usual.  As I got out of the shower,  I came out to find Karla standing in front of the tv with her mouth open watching as the one of the twin towers in NY exploded into flames.  As she was explaining to me what had happened, we watched as a second plane went into tower 2.

And ever since then, our lives have been different.  I'm reminded of that every time I go to the airport to get on a plane.  I'm reminded of that every time you turn on the news and they're reporting from the middle east.  I'm reminded of that every time I work in DC and drive past the Pentagon where you can still see the shiny new addition to the missing Pentagon section.  Have we continued to go on with life - yes - do we hurt - yes - will we one day not hurt as much - yes.

But in the meantime, as I travel I-65 from Indianapolis this fine Sunday morning and looked up at almost every overpass over the highway, I see firefighters waving flags down at the traffic below and I think, its definitely reminded us about how much we treasure our flag and who we are and I thank God for the many things He has given us.

Namely, I'm thankful that, even though the world thinks we oftentimes look stupid and sometimes it goes a little too far, I'm glad that we can still be a generous people in spite of our pride and our strength.  That we'll go the extra mile to help right a wrong or someone in need.  Again, I suppose you have to take the good with the bad, but I'm sure there are a lot of families today who have benefitted from the love and outpouring and compassion and care they received 10 years ago as they underwent one of the most traumatic periods of their lives.

On this Sunday, I thank God for the freedom that I had to sit in the church of my choice and listen to a sermon from the Bible without any fears of being arrested or having people harm us.  I'm thankful that we have that right to share our beliefs that, as strong as we think we are, God is the one that is in charge of ultimately righting wrongs and He has it all in His control.