A modest proposal

If all the words in the blogosphere and broadcast media about this weekend’s 9/11 Qur’an bonfire in Florida and the furor over the planned “Ground Zero Mosque” were committed to ink and paper, I have a feeling the entire Pacific Northwest would be 90% deforested by now. There are a lot of people exercising (and in some public cases, abusing) their right to free speech over these issues right now.

And in all the furor leading up to this weekend’s painful anniversary, I have heard nary a word about the families of the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on that September morning nine years ago.

1,609 people lost a spouse or partner on 9/11. More than 3,051 children lost parents.

I’d like to suggest that one simple and counter-cultural act you can do in the coming days is pray for the families of those who perished that 2001 morning in New York, Washington DC and Shanksville, PA. There is no “healing” after the sort of trauma these families experienced that September morning – the word “healing” implies restoration and wholeness. These families have experienced amputation and unspeakable sorrow.

Remember with these families, and pray God’s peace that goes beyond our understanding will flow into their broken hearts in the coming days.