A Wake Up Call . . . What will it take for God to get your attention?
Was 9/11 a wake-up call for us? It seemed like it . . . at first. It seemed like all of us in the U.S. were awake and listening - immediately following it. Where do you think we are now - almost 14 years later? Do you think we have banded together as a nation - invited God back into our schools, our government, our lifestyles? When I read this chapter in the book I couldn't help but feel saddened - feeling many have moved further from God - through political correctness, tolerance, anything goes, removing references to God in our holidays - songs - money . . . changing marital laws across the nation, even suing and fining business owners for following Biblical instruction versus man-made decisions.
None of us alive today can hear the words "nine eleven" and not recall the horror we felt that day and the days that followed as we watched and listened as four planes crashed - 2 into the Twin Towers, 1 into the Pentagon and 1 into the fields in Pennsylvania. Anne said "I knew people at that moment were stepping into eternity . . . in the blink of an eye, found themselves in eternity, standing before God!" She further said "On that day, God woke me up and set my heart on fire to tell other people the glorious good news of Jesus Christ: that through faith in Jesus, regardless of what happens in this life, we can be safe forever."
Something she said next, really touched my heart and I pray it will stay with me always . . . "We're all praying (she was referring to herself, her Dad Reverend Billy Graham and the rest of her family). I know the families and friends of the victims can hardly even pray for themselves . . . there are thousands of people in this country who are carrying you in prayer right now"
We've had several discussions together where we mentioned our fear of how we are going to react when something truly devastating happens (or happens again) - are we going to have the strength to pray? Anne's comments gave me such comfort to know that if there comes another time when we are just falling down in pain and grief that there will be those of you to carry us in prayer - just like we do each week with our Prayer Requests.
Do we know what time it is???