September 11th, is it time for the weary heart to rejoice?

September 11th, is it time for the weary heart to rejoice?
by
Chaplain Kathie

An act of hate killed that day and destroyed the lives of survivors. But acts of love and courage inspired a nation. We can all remember where we were that dark day when the news broke that a plane hit one of the Twin Towers, followed by another shock that a second one hit the other. We can remember being horrified. Fear, anger and hatred are very strong emotions. Memories of horrific events take hold and they are hard to forget. But if those events are followed by moments of grace, then those memories become stronger.

We saw the firefighters and police officers running toward the Towers while average citizens were running away. We saw them seconds before the first Tower fell and we knew most of them would die. We saw the images of the fire trucks and police cars covered in debris and dust, horrified, preparing ourselves for the numbers of the dead to be released.

Some people in this country want to hang onto the hatred and anger they felt that dark day. To them, what they feel is justified but it is not allowing them to heal. They are being eaten away by what was inspired by bad instead of what was created by the goodness of so many.

We saw pure love that day and in the days that followed. Firefighters accustomed to risking their lives on a daily basis were digging through the rubble of the Towers and stood silently as one of their own fallen was recovered. For moments they grieved for the loss of life, the loss of a friend, someone's husband, someone's Dad. Soon they returned to searching for more of their brothers they went into danger with.

As homes across America put their flags out on display, every street was covered with the stars and stripes in unity. Cars either had magnets on their bumpers of flags hanging off the windows. Even members of Congress stood together on the steps of the Capitol.

After traumatic events an anniversary date can cause a lot of pain unless we replace that horrifying memory with another one. If we focus on bad, then that is what is allowed to enter into our souls dictating the process of our healing. If we remember the event yet also remember what happened afterward, then most of the time it is healing because we see grace and love in action.

When a solider is wounded, someone comes to help them and save them. They are not left there alone. Someone reaches out a hand to them. Someone comes to comfort them. Someone comes to take them to get medical care. Someone prays for them. They are surrounded by love.

Witnesses see the gore and wonder if they could be next but they also see the response of the other people rushing to help. If they allow that memory to become stronger than the event itself, then they begin to heal. If they allow the horrific memory to be the stronger one, they begin to suffer.

We are all a part of what we see and how we look at the world around us. If it is all bad, then we take that into the rest of our lives. If it is good following bad, then goodness in others lives on. We have hope that we would be treated with the same kind of love.

Nine years after 9-11 many in this country want to hang onto the hate and anger. The pain they carry touches everyone they come into contact with. Many more have allowed the magnificence to take away the pain they felt. They remember people coming to help and they in turn wanted to help others. It is time for the weary hearts to rejoice by allowing love we witnessed to take hold and inspire us to pass that on. Hatred and anger inspire more of the same, but love and compassion can heal a nation.

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