Remember

Before I continue blogging on about mine and Brock's excellent adventures, I would like to encourage all of you to reflect for a few moments on what happened this day, nine years ago.

Today is a really hard day for me. Brock and I have differing opinions on how one should pay respect on the September 11th of each year. For him, it's enough to sit back, reflect, and make a mental note to not life for granted. That isn't enough for me. I need to feel, I need to cry. I'm not sure why. I just do.

9/11 is a day of mourning for me. And I make it that way on purpose (even though Brock argues that this is unhealthy). I make it a point to watch footage of 9/11. I need to watch those two planes ravage the WTC towers, and I need see the buildings crumble to the ground as if nothing more than a game of Jenga. I need to see the people who, in desperation, decided to jump to their deaths rather than burn in agony. I need to hear the voices of people calling their families one last time. I guess what I really need to know that 9/11 wasn't just an event. It was people.

At the bottom of this post, I've attached a hyperlink to a fantastic 9/11 video tribute on YouTube. You can decide whether or not you want to watch it.

For me, something funny happens each year on September 11th. Despite all the anguish that I voluntarily make myself go through, positive emotions surface. Its like a cleansing fire that breeds new birth. The love and devotion I have for my country, and my commitment to defend it, deepens. My testimony that the the United States truly is the promised land of God grows stronger. I remember that the 3000 lives that were lost that day have now returned to their Father. And I know that they will one day be re-united with the families they left behind on Earth. Just as the beautiful Plan of Salvation will come full circle for them, I know it it will come full circle for me, too.

I testify that we Americans were born here for a purpose. That we have a responsibility to protect our country, and to uphold the values that she was founded upon. I know that it was on this land that the fullness of the Gospel was brought back to earth, and that from this land it continues to perpetuate throughout the world. Jesus Christ will one day return here in millennial glory, and justice will prevail.

All will be made right again.