September 11, 2011

Every year on September 11, I try to spend some time quietly remembering that day. The principal came over the intercom first period telling us that counselors would be on hand to help any students who were worried about parents or family members who may be involved with the tragedies going on back east. Being high school students, we all chalked it up to being no big deal. And then I walked into the classroom where I served as a teacher assistant. There I saw my teacher, a woman I loved and admired, with tears streaming down her face looking up at the television in horror.

Knowing this year would be the 10th anniversary of the tragedy, I yearned inside for some way to meaningfully observe it. I wasn't sure what I wanted. I knew it involved coming together with other Americans. I knew it involved remembering the people who were lost on what had started out as a beautiful and ordinary day. It involved remembering those who had acted so courageously so that less horror would be inflicted, and in many cases were lost that day as well. I knew it involved reflecting on the beauty that was revealed in the face of so much terror. I knew that it involved love of God and country and beautiful music. And I am thankful to Sandy City for providing the perfect platform this morning.

a balloon and a flag for every life lost
Thurl Bailey said it is comforting to know that those who fell, fell to a better place.
Then he sang "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America" as the balloons floated into the heavens.

Half-Mast

The flag flying half-staff this week has been especially reverent and sacred to me. Thanks to the opportunity I've had this year to become more involved in politics, I have attended several meetings similar to the "Congress on Your Corner" where a gunman senselessly opened fire. In the path of danger were good people who had come to talk to their congresswoman about their concerns and hopes and ideas for state and country. Some were just there to listen and be apart. I identified with sweet little 9-year-old Christina who was on her student council and just there to learn more about government when she was unexpectedly gunned down. To me, these meetings are one of the beautiful parts of our political system. They give we the people direct access to someone who can take what we have said back to Washington. I believe Gabby Giffords would not have been standing on that corner if she didn't care what her constituents had to say and that she was serving them well. I pray for her and am excited when I hear of steps she is making to an expected recovery. I pray for the other injured and all those killed and their loved ones affected so deeply. I am thankful for the American spirit that I have felt come in to play as it does during tragedies like these as Americans express concern and love for the victims and are a little kinder to one another. I feel a little bit of all I've tried to express here swell up inside me every time I see another flag at half mast. I am thankful for how good my country has been to me and I love her.

Haiti

Last night I saw some footage from Haiti that included a baby girl being given a bath in a washtub on the street. It especially tugged on my heart because there are mommas in Haiti who love their baby girls like I love mine. I haven't yet figured out how to cope with large-scale tragedies like this in the world. Why do I get to snuggle up next to my husband with my little girl on the couch tonight and watch a movie while people in Haiti are pouring their loved ones into mass graves? So I'm trying to learn to cope by exercising my faith that God is the Ultimate Father. He must love and care deeply for His children. I trust that He is all-knowing. He has the answers to all the questions and situations in life that perplex me and He will help me understand them if and when I need to. I believe prayer is a power strong enough to pour a feeling of comfort and love over a nation and so when I pray for Haiti, I am helping. And because we have so much, I want to give.