Hope vs. Fear ....10 years after 9/11

Just like you, I remember exactly where I was on that beautiful Tuesday morning ten years ago today. Doing a little window shopping had me completely oblivious to what was happening in New York City, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania. While I was browsing for some stuff to add to my already big enough pile of stuff, people's lives were being snuffed out and others were facing decisions I'll most likely never have to face. We all remember those brave words, "Let's roll." We all remember the tears. The scenes. The shock. The FEAR. We remember so well that I've chosen to not post any pictures in this post. Those images are permanently imprinted in our minds.

Stephen called me that morning on my cell to ask me if I had heard what was going on. He was at a Prayer Breakfast where the enormity of what was happening was barely sinking in to those in attendance--it was something we could never have imagined as we woke to such a beautiful morning. As I stood in the aisle of the store, it seemed as though the world stopped. I looked at the strangers around me so differently than I had when I walked into the store. I couldn't leave quickly enough. As soon as I hung up with him, I do what I always do in the moment of needing someone to talk to: I called my mom. She and I talked on the phone all the way to my house. She, like most Americans, was glued to her TV screen. I had not yet seen the images. Like other parents, I wanted to gather up my little chicks and keep them close to me, so I headed to the school. Amelia was only 7 and Macey was about to turn 5. And everything was different than it had ever been before.

This moment--this act--changed America forever.

That evening, we gathered for prayer at our home church, and our pastor, who was out of town and unable to get back home, called in with words of peace and comfort and, yes, hope. The world had changed, and we didn't know if the attacks were over or just beginning. Our sense of security as Americans on American soil had been ripped away from us in an instant. But something had not changed.

GOD.

For a short while, we were not divided as a people. We weren't democrats or republicans or independents. We weren't rich or poor or middle-class. We were Americans. United. Hopeful. And, for a little while, we turned our hearts toward Heaven...to the God we have prayed would "Bless America."

Fear changes a lot of things. But Hope? Hope changes everything! And when Hope is founded in the unchangeable God who rules and reigns over it all, that sometimes tiny glimmer of hope becomes a radiant source of strength, and courage and boldness!

A.W. Tozer said, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." If we have a right understanding of God, who He is and what He does, we will be filled with Hope--hope for today and hope for tomorrow--regardless of what present circumstances indicate. We'll understand that today isn't all there is. We'll grasp that He is a loving creator, working from and for eternity. We'll know that the story... isn't... over... yet.

Hope Changes Everything! And as we reflect on what this past decade has meant for us as a nation made up of communities made up of families made up of individuals--may we each choose today to have and to offer HOPE!

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What does Hope mean to you?

How does Hope overcome fear?

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My friend, Dee Marshall, was there that day. Read her Hope Post here.