The Well Palmdale, CA

First off I wanted to apologize for the long delay between blog posts.  Things have been going nutso crazy around The Well (in a good way).  God is on the move!  More to come next week on that, though. 

Today, I was inspired to come to you all out there and write because today is September 11th.  It's a day that our nation was impacted exactly 8 years ago.  Now, I know that every generation has a moment like this (Kennedy's assassination, Pearl Harbor, etc.), but this being one of the moments that has impacted me...I am compelled to remember this day in a more vibrant way.  On 9.10.01, I went to bed and woke up the next morning to some construction workers outside my dorm talking about some plane crashes.  I couldn't believe it, so my roommate and I turned on the TV and were shocked...uncomfortable...angry...saddened...wondering if Chicago (where we lived) was going to be next...and throughout that day we clung to the embrace of our God to bring us comfort.

This morning began in the same way...no I have not moved back into a dorm, and Palmdale is a far ways from Chicago...but I woke up in ignorance.  Maybe I have had too much on my mind regarding The Well and all of the work that needs to be done...maybe I've grown too self-involved...maybe the forced/generic patriotism that followed 9/11 put a bad taste in my mouth...maybe I just forgot...maybe my dislike for all cable news has caused me to miss out on the tiny nuggets of news that they actually bring (like reminders of 9/11).  

Regardless, I woke up, got ready, got in the car, and headed off to work like it was any other day...and as I drove I heard that it was 9/11.  I was shocked bordering on ashamed.  Our country is still at war trying to bring the minds and hands behind the horrendous acts done 8 years ago for crying out loud!  This day has brought us into two wars, completely changed how we travel, removed our American comfort bubble, killed thousands, devastated millions, and showed us that even we are vulnerable.  This should not be a day to forget. 

Now, since this is not a political or military blog, I'm going to refrain from speaking about what our attitude should be towards the perpetrators from those angles. Today is about God and what he is doing in our hearts...the hearts of His people.  Maybe forgetting is something that we need to do.  Again...this is not a military or political statement...justice is a good thing.  But as I started being frustrated with myself for not remembering, an important passage came into my head "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:34b and quoted in Hebrews 8:12).  God shows us that in the new covenant with Jesus, our sins are remembered no more.  Christ's blood is powerful and it washes out sins completely away to the point that there is no record of them anywhere.  So if Christ's blood is that powerful and has touched our lives in that way...and since He has granted us a new life in Him...then maybe we need to have that same kind of heart.  Maybe this morning of forgetting can help all of us know that we must forgive those who have hurt and killed thousands of innocent people. 

This is not an easy prayer, but I know that this will be my prayer for today.  I don't want to forget in a way that dishonors those who were brave and helped those in need, or those who were killed or injured, or disgraces the families of those who were impacted, or even forget in a way that I begin to think that my country is bulletproof.  My prayer will be for a forgiving heart so that I can have the heart of God...so that I can love all people.  Even if those who did this are not repentant, we have all been called to love...to forgive...and maybe on a deep soul level...forget.  This is the power of the cross...and the power of living under the cross.  

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