So what feels like almost a life time away...before our kids, before I was married or even knew Jeremy, before I served in SouthAsia but just after I graduated from college- I was in New York 2 days after the attacks on the Twin Towers and I volunteered in the compassion center set up to assist family members of those that perished in the attacks that dreadful day. Those were life changing days for me, watching family members fill out missing persons reports in those first days after the attacks and then it slowly turn to them bringing in items for possible DNA identification for their family member, those last items that they thought their son or daughter or wife or father may have touched that morning before heading out the door one last time and they had those tooth brushes or hair brushes or whatever in a zip lock bag. Then in the days following that there were some families 'lucky' enough to have a positive ID and were then issued a death certificate. One of the things that I'd do for the spiritual care center with the Red Cross there was roam around the center looking for family members that were broken down and crying and ask them if they wanted to speak with a Chaplin or have some time in prayer. To say that at the end of the day I was heart broken would be an understatment, I would sit in my hotel room and just pour through the Psalms pleading for understanding, compassion, to not let all of the emotion I was processing turn into bitterness and I'd pray like David did for justice for our enemies...
But I also know that those moments were the foundation of my desire to go a work among muslims in South Asia for 2 years, it also was the hrad & fast reality for me at how precious life is, that we are not guaranteed tomorrow- so I wanted and still want to live a life of obedience to my Fahter in Heaven. To love and cherish each day as it comes. And to allow God to work through me, so that some may hear the truth, to know hope and freedom in ways that are only possible through Jesus Christ.
So when I heard that Bin Ladin was killed, there was a part of me that breathed a sigh of relief and I thought back to King David and his battles and victories against his enemies in the Bible. And thought wow- how bittersweet! There is part of me that really wishes I could be with my brother right now celebrating at ground zero- that JUSTICE was served to all those innocent people that lost their lives on 9/11 but there is also a part of me that grieves for Bin Ladin and wonders if he feels like the rich man in the parable of the rich man and Lazaras (Luke 16: 19-31) in the Bible. Now that he (just like the Rich Man in the parable) is eternally seperated from God, in a place of torment and agony- does he want to beg that someone return to his family and warn them, so that they will not have come to the same place? (Luke 16: 27-28)
I am honored to serve a just and rightious God that does ultimately hold each of us accountable for all of our actions...but my heart hurts for any soul lost. And I also think about what the Lord says in Ezekial 18:23 "Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Soviergn Lord, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live."
So I'm celebrating with mixed emotions today like some many others. I do rejoice completely that no US solider was harmed in the attack and am I so proud of all of those that sacrifice so much to protect and serve.
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