Five Years Later...

Today is 9/11...five years after the biggest terror attack on US soil. While it's really no different than the past four anniversaries, it seems the world is taking special note of today. Things seem so different since then, but really how much has changed? The Taliban is stronger than they've ever been since 2001, we have a huge war going on in Iraq, and half the world hates us for one reason or another. We've been so fortunate as a country to not have been attacked again since then, but that by no means says "they" haven't tried. Just a few weeks ago a huge plot to blow up airliners was foiled. What we will be the next "big one?"

My life was forever changed on that day. I remember it like it happened yesterday, and I'll never forget it. This event was my generation's Pearl Harbor...our Kennedy Assassination. Never before had I been able to tell people "where I was when it happened" for any event (except maybe the Challenger Shuttle when it exploded). I can still tell you what I was doing, and almost down to the minute what I did the rest of that day--intently watched the news, prayed, called friends and family, worried if "this was it". I did briefly think for that day and the days immediately after that we were in World War III. I thought maybe the U.S. was finally done. One of the scariest things for me personally was to fly just a couple weeks after the event, and have the pilot declare to the passengers "if anything happens on this flight, you know what to do". I assume he meant do what the United 93 passengers did, and take it down into the ground. Talk about being scared to death.

Five years later, the world is still a scary place--full of terrorists, wars and rumors of wars. More terrorist attacks will happen, but who knows when or where. All we can do is continue to live our lives as normal, and pray for the Lord to keep us safe. God is the only one who controls our fate, and we must rely on Him in everything we do. To sit around and worry about an attack would be senseless, and would only hurt ourselves. So, to anyone reading this I say, live life. Enjoy yourself. Spend time with loved ones and make them a priority. The amount of time we have on this earth is limited. Spend every day as it is a gift from above.