Where Were You?

Where Were You?

I was in line at Starbucks. I had just dropped off Brady, my then-nine-month-old baby, at his day care. On my way to work, I had stopped at Starbucks to get some fuel for my day, and the guy in front of me said, “Have you heard? Someone just flew a plane into the World Trade Center.”

I remember where I was when President Reagan was shot. I remember where I was when the Challenger exploded, and I remember where I was when planes crashed into buildings on that September day.

By the time I made it to my office, many of my coworkers were huddled around a television to see what they could. Everything seemed to slow down, and it was all so surreal to realize that America was under siege.

After the third plane crashed, I left work to get Brady. Every instinct in me said, “I don’t know what is happening, but I do know that I want my son to be with me if it happens to us here.” So I got into my vehicle and picked up my son.

America has never been the same since. After two foreign wars, and additional terrorist assaults on Europe and our homeland, there is an anger and bitterness in our hearts that we don’t often access. I believe that much of the anger of the 2016 presidential election was rooted in that moment in time when innocence for so many Americans was lost.

The “Where were you?” moments of life can really make a deep impact on you if you don’t protect your heart. The 9/11 events of life, like your father walking out on you as a kid, or being betrayed by your spouse, leave deep wounds if you don’t seek a way to have them healed.

It takes courage to pray the words of Jesus found in Luke 23: “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing’” (verse 34). May that be our prayer for those who have hurt us!

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34