Ten Years Since

Micah and Caleb,

Today is an important day for you. Important for me, too. Important for all Americans. September 11th is more than just a date for us. Someday you'll be reading a history book and you'll come across the attacks on the World Trade Center. And you could gloss over it. You could just commit the important details to memory and close your book. But, instead I hope you'll understand how important it was and how much it changed the world you came into.

Mommy and Daddy were in college when it happened. September 11, 2001, we went in to a morning Science class that we took together. And when we came out the whole campus was a-buzz with the knowledge that two planes had hit the Twin Towers. Daddy and I watched the footage all day long. I remember thinking that it was comforting to know that I was in a little town in East Texas. I was worried about our friends and family who were in big cities or tall buildings.

That worry lasted for a while and then, like the rest of the country, I was angry at the evil. And proud at Americans' responses. You should have seen the pride we had for our country in the weeks that followed! Flags flew everywhere you went. Bumper stickers and t-shirts memorialized the event, those who'd died as victims, and those who'd died as heroes.

It's been ten years. One decade. But really it's the same old story of good and evil. That's what I hope you'll remember: that there's evil in the world and I suppose you'll have a time when you'll both confront it head on. We aren't hopeless, we're hopeful. We aren't unarmed, we're secured with the power of Christ and truth. We're heading to a world where there's no evil at all.

It hasn't been too many weeks since some of our guys caught Bin Laden. He's dead now. And hopefully that was a turning point in this war. Hopefully it was the beginning of the end so that you won't have to grow up hearing the word "terrorist" as much as we do now. But our capture and killing of Bin Laden also marked the day of his judgment. He's living an eternity without God now.

So when you read about 9/11 in your history books I want you to think of it as the day that changed our country. They day that changed your mom's heart and perspective. I want you to grow into men who see evil and have one instinctual reaction: let's pray for them.

That's my prayer for you.

All my heart, all my love, and all my mushy gushy hugs,

Mom