Our God Reigns

As all of you know, today is the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America.  Even for those of us not personally affected by the death of a loved one on that awful day, many of us are still deeply affected, for lack of a better word.

My intent tonight is not to rehash that day, even though it has been in the forefront of my mind all day.  I cried as I saw gentlemen hanging American flags on Main St, and I bawled when the local radio station played our national anthem at 8:46, followed by Proud to Be an American.  Truthfully, I did my best to stay away from mainstream radio and tv today.

My children do not know what it is like to live in a pre-terrorism/war-free country.  Noah was almost eight months old on September 11, 2011, and of course, Avery wasn't yet to be.  As their mom, I feel it is part of my job to educate them, to help them understand what happened that day: What it was like, what happened, what I remember, how much of an impact it made on every single American.  Avery is too young to understand any of this, but Noah is reaching the age at which he can grasp the concepts.

I started talking with Noah about it last night, explaining how vivid my memories still are, right down to what I was wearing, what he was wearing, and what we were playing with on the floor when Shawn called me from work.  I talked with him about the rest: How my mom was supposed to fly back from Maine the next day but couldn't, how my uncle had to buy a car to get home from Las Vegas because trains, buses and planes were grounded, how phone calls couldn't get through, how my dad was in DC when the plane hit the Pentagon and Daddy was less than five miles from Dulles, and just how frightened we all were.  I explained to him how the country literally stopped, how we all just stood still for days on end, praying for survivors and happy endings.  I told Noah that even today, scientists and other specialists still continue to sift through the rubble, which has been moved to other locations, hoping to find something, anything, for surviving family members to have for burial or memorial purposes.

Noah, as always, wasn't without his observations and questions.  He wanted to know why they haven't rebuilt the World Trade Center.  I told him that for a lot of people, it would hurt too much, and that it would it be too difficult for them to return to those rebuilt buildings.  I reminded him what he told me after Gretta died: That he would never be able to own another Chocolate Lab again because it would hurt too much.  I told him it would be something like that, a painful reminder for many people, so instead they are building memorials.  Noah also wanted to know why God allows evil, if I thought that sometimes God maybe allows evil so we can learn to rely on Him and see His greatness.  Oh child, I don't know if I can keep up with you sometimes.

I did my best to explain that God does not allow evil.  Evil exists in this world because we are human, and as humans, we have been given free will.  I told Noah that evil makes God sad, but yes, there are times even evil can be used for good.  There are ways for God's light to shine through the evil, and as Believers, that should always be our ultimate goal: for others to see God in us, even through the worst of times.

Noah still wanted to know why God allows bad things to happen.

This was when I got my Bible out.  I took Bible-based disaster training a few years ago.  The chaplain who taught who the course happened to have been one of the first responders at the Pentagon, and worked with pilots and flight attendants after the attacks.  He told us the question he heard the most was "If God is so powerful, why did He allow this?  Why didn't He stop these attacks?"  While this chaplain did not have exact answers to these questions, he was able to give Biblical examples of God's Providence.  These were the answers I gave Noah to his "Why?" question:

* Protection from the crisis event.   Psalm 91: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.  If you say, “The Lord is my refuge," and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;  they will lift you up in their hands,  so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the cobra and you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;  I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call on me, and I will answer him;  I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

*Preservation through the crisis event.  Psalm 18: 1-6: I love you, Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise and I have been saved from my enemies.  The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.  The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.  In my distress I called to the Lord;  I cried to my God for help.  From his temple he heard my voice;  my cry came before him, into his ears.

*Presence in crisis event.  Psalm 23:  The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures,  he leads me beside quiet waters,  he refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely your goodness and love will follow me  all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Noah and I talked about what all of these mean, we went over them line by line, and we talked about what these Biblical answers mean to us as Believers.  I don't know how much more Noah--or even I, myself--understands about where God is when bad things happen, and moreover, why bad things happen--but one thing we do know is that our God is with us always.  He reigns, plain and simple.