It’s 9-11-12. Today, everyone in America is inspired to reflect upon a series of horrible events that happened eleven years ago. I posted on my Facebook a picture of Ronald Gamboa, Daniel Brandhorst and their 3-year-old son, David who died when United Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
To be honest I half expected a series of negative jabs at the fact that I chose a gay family to honor over police men and women, firefighters or a more traditional America couple/family that perished on those planes.
Sad, no, pathetic that these thoughts even crossed my mind. People died that day. All kinds of people. People who God loved. People who Jesus died for. Yet here I am wondering if I’m going to be accused of using this day of mourning and remembrance as an opportunity to grandstand politically. How petty.
Speaking of petty, I’m uncomfortable with flying, have been for a long time. When I see news reports of planes crashing, I always think the same thing: What frame of mind were people in right before realizing that death was immanent?
In my younger years, I was devastated by a break up just seconds before boarding a plane for an 11 hour flight from London to Los Angeles. I cried the whole way home and kept thinking to myself, “It would serve so and so right if this plane crashed.” Petty.
We argue, fight, insult, damage and break up so often in this life. We suffer, we cry, we heal, we rebound and do it all over again. Again and again. How many times do you think about the people who have hurt you? I think about them more often than I care to admit. Do you look them up on Facebook? I do. I was happily surprised when I looked up my most recent “ex” and saw they had suffered a break-up not too long ago. Petty.
Most fights are petty. Most break ups are about petty things or major mistakes in judgment brought about by pettiness, selfishness and just plain old ungratefulness. Then one day a group of people board a plane and all the pettiness comes to a halt.
Take a moment to tell your loved ones how you feel. Pray for and with your children. Never allow a day to go by without reminding the people in your life that they matter and never allow a night to end in an argument or separation. Your plane may be next and your last thoughts in this life should be, “God, take care of the people who know I love them” not, “Oh God, I never told them…”
My prayers continually go out to all of the people in this country and around the world who lost loved ones on 9/11, to the survivors who are now suffering residual sickness and to their families and friends who are holding them in prayer, vigil or, unfortunately, in mourning.
Everybody talks about America and what it’s supposed to stand for. I see America as people, an enormous collection of precious souls, that have no gender, status, color, sexual orientation and opinions. Jesus lived to reach us. He died to save us. He forever exists to intercede for us. Our pettiness has always gotten the best of us. Let’s lay it down in honor of those who have perished and will continue to perish on account of this tragedy.
And for the people in our lives that matter. They deserve to know how much we love them a lot more than how much they get on our nerves.