Sometimes you have to hit the brakes and change direction.
I’ve labored
over a light-hearted seasonal column for several days now. The subject didn’t arrive without effort and
the words followed suit. As I watched a
9/11 memorial on TV this morning I realized that it was time to put that column
aside, at least for now.
My parents
were in their 40’s when I was born. They
left my life too soon, but I’m grateful for their stories. Mama and Daddy described the Great
Depression and World War II not as historical events, but parts of
their lives. They recalled where they
were and what they were doing when they learned that Pearl Harbor had been
bombed. I didn’t truly relate to that
story until September 11, 2001.
Not one of
you, dear readers, needs a description of that day. After the first two airplanes made their
final, fatal descents, scores of heroes appeared: first responders rushing into danger as
others fled, office workers helping each other escape the flames, the
passengers of Flight 93 choosing to die as valiant soldiers rather than
helpless victims.
Every
September 11 I think of the people who left their homes that morning with a
long list of concerns on their minds.
Mortgages. Quarterly reports. A son’s ‘D’ in math. An aging mother’s forgetfulness. I imagine many folks walked into their
workplaces weighed down with worry.
Maybe others
commuted with lists of another kind swirling through their brains. First I’ll do this, then I’ll do that, and
finally I’ll reach my destination.
And then
they were gone.
Living in
the moment isn’t a New Age philosophy; it’s reality. God doesn’t promise us another week, another
hour or even another minute. But we have
the present, and that’s enough.
When you
resolve to appreciate each moment the world starts to open up like a flower. You notice the crescent moon surrounded by
gauzy clouds as you drive home and crickets jumping in your path as you cut the
grass. You take in your husband’s smile
as if for the first time.
See the
beauty of the earth. Listen to the
people God has made. Love the ones He has
placed in your life. Notice the moment.