September 11th Memorial

In July, Gina and I went to the Orange County Fairgrounds. It was a hot day, but we were enjoying ourselves together as mother and daughter. I wasn’t expecting to be moved so deeply at our day at the fair, but as I turned the corner here is what I saw:

Gina hadn’t remembered our 9/11 lesson in homeschool the previous year. She didn’t understand why I immediately gasped as my eyes filled with tears. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember where I was, who told me, and the screams on the radio as I hear someone shriek out, “another plane!” My friend updated me on what she had been listening to. We were under attack. All the years of learning history in school could not prepare me for how I was feeling at that very moment. I raced home to watch the news and was glued to the television for the whole week. I cancelled all my appointments. I prayed. I grieved. All those precious lives…gone. Gina was just a baby that day.

I remember when I sat down with my older two girls to explain what had happened. Jessica, at such a tender young age, asked…”Why are there bullies in the world?”

Indeed, this was a case of bullies gone wild. I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding 9/11. I’ve read the critical accusations against former President Bush. I’ve read and heard what the media has said about the terrorists. But regardless of how the history books get written, facing bullies is an every day occurrence. We may not be able to combat those kind of bullies very effectively once they get to that point in their lives, but we can start with our own children and the other children they interact with. In memory of September 11th and in honor of all those who lost their lives…

Can you work diligently to counsel your children and their friends?
Can you nurture them to be forgiving and gracious?
Can we make a commitment to our children and to God that we will do our best to raise our children to be compassionate souls who don’t bully?

We can’t change what happened to the Twin Towers and the fallen lives of that tragic event, but maybe we can do something now to protect future generations.