No
matter how I feel deep within my soul,
I
need only to remind myself that God is in control.
And
then I am at peace
Though
the problems may not cease,
For
I can trust the One who made me whole.
Karen Sue Hale
October 30, 1986
GREAT PEACE
September 11, 2001 – Like our parents remember Pearl Harbor,
December 7, 1941, my generation will never forget the day the twin towers
collapsed into rubble and dust. I was
sitting at my desk in the auto dealership accounting office where I worked. My supervisor came by and asked if I’d heard
the news that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and one of the
towers was on fire. I had not because I
didn’t turn on the car radio that morning.
Someone else came in and said, “A second plane has hit the other tower,
and it looks intentional!” As my coworkers flew up the stairs to gather around
the television, I sat in stunned disbelief.
Realizing I was
completely alone in the office, I remembered that the only and best thing I
could do about this tragedy was to pray.
Therefore, in the silence of the empty room, I bowed my head and asked
the Lord to watch over the people in New York and to give us peace in the midst
of the confusion, horror, and fear. I
took a moment to call my sister who works at a law office. She was watching it all unfold on TV and
gasped, “Oh my gosh! The tower just
disintegrated!” I hung up the phone and
tears flowed as I prayed for families of victims and firefighters and policemen
who would risk and lose their lives.
At lunch I watched
news reports of a plane hitting the Pentagon and a plane ditched in a field to
keep it from reaching its intended target.
I prayed for wisdom for President Bush and peace for his wife. I was upset by the tragedy, but I was not
unsettled. The Lord restored my peace as
I exercised my faith in his sovereignty and control.
Fear of more attacks
gripped the nation. Reports on the radio told of local schools giving parents
the option to pick up their children early.
I was keenly aware that my home lies between an airbase and a major airport
and only two miles from Bell Helicopter. Even with the feeling that my house
had a target painted on the roof, I had to agree with our CFO when he said, “If
we cease to be productive, the enemy wins.”
He was talking about the terrorists.
I was thinking about Satan. If he
could take my focus off of God’s power, he would win. I determined not to let him and continued to
pray, and God gave me great peace.
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