Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. – Psalm 150:6

Today's Scripture Reading (September 11, 2022): Psalms 149 & 150

It is hard to believe that it has already been twenty-one years since the terrorist attack brought down the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York and destroyed the western face of the Pentagon building in Arlington County, Virginia. Passengers brought down the fourth plane before it could hit the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Two thousand, nine hundred and seventy-seven people died in the attack, excluding the nineteen hijackers. The youngest of the victims was Christine Lee Hanson at the age of two. Today Christine would have been twenty-three and just at the beginning of this great adventure we call life. The oldest victim was Robert Norton at eighty-two years of age.

I still remember the day of the hijacking. My wife came and got me just after the plane hit the North Tower at 8:46 AM Eastern Time (6:46 AM in my local time zone.) We were still trying to figure out what was happening when the second plane hit the South Tower just a little more than fifteen minutes later. At that time, any hopes that the first plane colliding with the North Tower was some horrible accident had disappeared. Something was going on that we just couldn't get our heads around.

In the hours and days that followed, it seemed weird to look up into the sky and see nothing but clouds and blue sky. The planes that appeared to be an ever-present occurrence in contemporary life were gone as North America tried to come to grips with a new reality that stressed that we were no longer safe. If it happened in New York and Washington, it could happen anywhere.

I have to admit that in the wake of September 11, 2001, it was hard to find something about which to praise God. How could something this terrible happen? How could anyone expect us to praise God in a moment like this? It's a good question and one that needs to be asked. But it is also one that escapes all attempts to find an answer. The best I can do is say that we praise God even when we don't feel like praising him. We praise God during times of terror and despair. We praise God because he told us to praise him. And God holds our hearts and emotions in his hand. When nothing can bring comfort, God can bring a healing balm into our lives. He is the friend that understands us even during our darkest moments. A God who holds us even when the darkness threatens to overwhelm us.

Today, it is Christine, Robert, and all those victims of the ages in between that fill my thoughts. And while I am sad, I also praise God for the difference that they made in the lives of those around them. And today, I am especially grateful for the people who surround me. You are a gift from the God whom I still will praise.

Today's Scripture Reading: 1 Chronicles 21