Where Was God On 9-11?

I originally wrote the little blurb below for another website I contributed to. The website has since gone by the wayside, so I decided to repost it here. Looking back, I have to admit, it is still hard to accept the painful reality that so many innocent live were lost that horrific day. The situation screams of an unimaginable injustice that befell so many without warning, and there is a part of me that agrees with this analogy. Still, there’s another part of me that feels differently.

Are we all to blame (If not in some tiny way) for the state of the world today? We live in it. We, therefore, contribute to in in some way. Could this entire episode have been avoided, and so many others like it around the world? Probably not.

The radical and distorted thinking of a small few in this world, are what brought about this evil. I find it unlikely that any ‘one’ or any ‘thing’ could have changed the vicious thoughts, and warped views these individuals have of their fellow human beings or of the questionable interpretations of the messages they claim “their God” gives them.

Honestly, I have no real answer that will quell the anger of many (Myself included) or comfort the aching hearts of those that lost so much that day; both young and old. I’m not sure exactly what was running through my mind at the time I wrote the blurb. I can only say that you can blame God if you want, and I would understand if you did.

Still, we need to remember that when we point a finger at anyone (Including God) there are always 3 fingers pointing back. We aren’t completely blameless.

Before I end this now-longer-than-I-anticipated introduction to my blurb, I’d like to share with you an experience that happened to me shortly after the attack.

I was convened at my church with my fellow parishioners. We were sitting in the quietness of our dimly-lit sanctuary in a haphazard circle as each of us took a brief turn talking with God about what had happened, just days before. When it was my turn to contribute all I could think of were the other people around the world who live the same kind of tragedy every day that I, and my fellow Americans, were now experiencing.

I will never forget the feeling that overwhelmed me as I came to the shocking realization that this tragedy had been playing out in the lives of so many others for such a long time…grown men, you brides, young children…and I hadn’t given them any more than a brief, fleeting thought as I quickly grabbed my remote to change the channel each time their stories were broadcasted across my television.

I prayed through tears that da,y a prayer that was felt so deep in my heart, I can almost feel the warmth of my tears as they fell from my opened eyes that day.

The following is similar to my prayer to God that day:

Father forgive me for not caring enough to pray for those that live this tragedy every waking day you give them.

Forgive my selfishness at not taking the time to realize just how horrific their lives, and their losses are.

Forgive me for assuming that such genocide would never affect me, and for my lack of understanding that it does affect me, as it was so proven to me and all American’s as those iconic towers crashed to the ground.

I am so sorry that I have never taken even a single moment out of my busy, yet carefree day of going to the beach, or shopping for new clothes, or watching the latest episode of my favorite television show, to consider that those people, the ones I’ve never giving a second thought about, are someone’s father, someone’s mother or sister, someone’s aunt or cousin, someone’s shoulder to lean on, or someone’s child they would blindly, and without hesitation, have given their own lives to protect.

Forgive me for being so selfish, and for not listening sooner to the anguished sobs that have perpetually been cried out around the world for so long. The sobs of innocent men, women and children.

I am ashamed that it took the lost of innocent lives here on American soil to open my eyes to the reality that we are all at risk. We all face the possibility of having to endure the same unimaginable sorrow suffered by those I never knew, yet will now, never forget.

I pray that you protect us from the evils of this world, and give us an understanding of your ways that bring us comfort, and peace, in a world so savage and uncertain as the one we now live in.

Amen

Are we all to blame (If not in some tiny way) for the state of the world today?

Whether we are to blame for what happened or not, I know that I am the very least guilty of not caring about other humans the way I should have been…the way I now hope they care about me.

MY BLURB:

Where was God on 9/11? The same place He’s always been. With us.

Why is it that people question Gods’ presence in the face of disaster; blaming Him for the situation or for not stopping it.

It’s all His fault. He had the power to stop it and didn’t. Why did He allow it to happen in the first place? It’s all His doing.

Yet, when good fortune finds it’s way into our lives; we are the ones that brought it to fruition.

I did this. I did that. Look what I achieved. All the credit is directed toward ourselves.

I’m of the opinion that it’s the other way around. Why do we tend to take the credit for the success, and pass the buck when failure rears it’s monstrous head? We’ve been passing the buck since we were small children.

Have you ever looked at the face of a 5-year-old when they’ve been caught doing something wrong. Their expression screams, “I did it!” while their mouths proclaim complete innocence. How many times are you going to warn the little one before you set some consequences in place? If you’re any kind of loving parent, it won’t take to long.

We all need boundaries, complete with consequences for when they are repeatedly crossed.

And, how many times are you going to pay the hospital bill for your uninsured, drunken brother or sister, each time they end up in the emergency room with alcohol poisoning, before you say, enough is enough. You brought this on yourself. You made your bed; lay in it.

Why then, is it not acceptable for God to set consequences in place for us? Are the boundaries He’s set in place any less important than the ones we’ve set for each other? Is He supposed to continually fix everything when we tread outside of His boundaries?

That’s not proper practice for us as earthly parents, and it’s no less proper for Him as our heavenly Parent.