I was a freshman in college when the twin towers came down.

Growing up, politics were not a part of my life, nor was much on a global scale.  My reality was whatever was around me, so when the first tower was hit, I was not sure how to process it.

I didn’t understand terrorism.  I didn’t know much about the countries being mentioned on the news.  I did know that there was immense destruction and lost lives, though it felt distant from me.

It still impacted me, even as I barely understood it, but not quite like it does today.

Not long ago I watched a documentary on 9/11, and was surprised by how deeply it hit me.  The images were ones I had seen 25 years before — some as they happened — yet they were somehow heavier and harder.

In the years since the attacks, I have experienced life.  I had kids.  I witnessed tragedies.  I suffered loss.  Those experiences changed how I processed and understood things, even things of the past.  9/11 was no longer an “event”; it became something I could internalize in a deeper way.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”  There is something about actually experiencing life that helps us understand reality more fully.  I believe 2026 Paul would have reacted different than 2001 Paul witnessing the events of 9/11; what must I do with this reality?

• I should show past-me some grace.  I did not take the act of terrorism as seriously as I should have.  I may not have taken it lightly, but I did return to normal pretty fast.  The thing is, 2001 Paul knew very little about the world; I can’t blame him for responding inadequately if he didn’t have adequate information.  How might we need to show this grace to our past selves in other ways?  How might we need to show grace to others in how they respond?  I can’t help but think of Jesus calling out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

• I should practice humility.  2001 Paul actually thought he knew a lot about God and life, and had no clue how naive and mistaken he was on just about everything.  Who am I to say 2051 Paul wouldn’t look at me today and say the same?  We like to believe we are in the “when I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me” stage, but what if we aren’t?  How might we need to exercise humility in spaces we may feel confident?  How can we make ourselves open to God’s wisdom and conviction?  Proverbs 11:2 tells us, “when pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.“

• Lament is important, though the when and how may change.  I did “lament” 25 years ago, though it looked different than how I “lamented” while watching footage recently.  If I’m honest, I moved on quickly from both moments, because something in us sees lament as something to be avoided.  When grief overstays its welcome, we become like Job’s friends, demanding explanation and restoration.  Sometimes the answer and the fixes are farther off than we would ever choose — sometimes we never see either in this life — and lament is our way to be honest about reality while expectant of who God is and will be in the midst.  “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice!” (Psalm 130:1)  The psalmist is already deep in the pit, yet holds to the belief that God exists and hears him.  How can we grow in our ability to practice radical acceptance of the difficulties of life and confidence in the character of God?  How can we be open to that looking different throughout our life?

9/11 marks a day each year where we can stop and acknowledge that horrific things do happen, but that those things aren’t the end of the story.  From a secular standpoint, the message of 9/11 is that terrorism destroyed lives AND that a divided nation came together.  It holds images of carnage AND heroism.  It brings heartbreak AND hope.  These messages are true from a spiritual standpoint as well, along with the reality that the full story is actually eternal; “for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Corinthians 4:17)  Our invitation as believers is to be Ambassadors for this greater truth, to join in lament as we “mourn with those who mourn,” (Romans 12:15b) while not forgetting that the same verse begins with “rejoice with those who rejoice.” (Romans 12:15a)

More importantly, we do this not in our own power, but with an unrelenting awareness of our need for the Spirit:

Romans 8:8-9:
“Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.”

1 Corinthians 2:14:
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

Zechariah 4:6:
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

Whatever your response to 9/11 — then, today, and in the years to come — remember it occurs in the presence of an almighty, all-knowing, all-loving God who was, and is, and is to come.