The images played over and over again through the media have become fused into our conscious and subconscious minds. From various angles we have seen jumbo jets smashing into the sides of crowded buildings. Plumes of smoke and fire billowing from the wreckage. Shards of glass, metal and concrete streaming to the sidewalks below. People fleeing for their lives from clouds of dust and gas chasing after them as though we were watching a bad horror flick. In real audio we hear over and over again detailed accounts of the horrible experiences from those whom have survived or witnessed this tragedy first hand. Of the people who grasped the hand of someone nearby in order to gain the strength to leap to their death rather than face the agony of the inferno. Listening to the last words of those who have been lost trying desperately to tell the ones they care about how much they love, miss and long to be near them. Profound sorrow, loss, and grief grip our hearts with each report. On and on the stories go and thereby we all suffer vicarious trauma.
We are unable to remove ourselves from the anguish of this event because of the sudden and random nature of it. And we remain shaken because there is nothing that fully prevents the same terror from happening to us or someone we love. Indeed this is a "long bad dream" and even still it has not come to an end.
For those individuals and families who are connected to the military a new anxiety has arisen. The fear of ongoing personal tragedy looms through the preparatory activities of war. And there is nothing we can do to quiet this anticipatory distress. As we begin to commit another of our young and vibrant generations to death through conflict we store up for ourselves an abundance of misery for the days to come. This end is an apparent inevitability for our country because we press on toward that mark.
But Jesus has left us his peace to help us through these moments. He bids us not to be anxious for anything. "For there will be wars and rumors of wars" and "many birth pains" before His reappearance. We are to rejoice in the face of these events despite the momentary suffering we endure knowing that these things are ushering in our ultimate salvation. Much love to the media desk and those it loves. My prayers are with you and yours in this time. Let us increase in our fellowship and in the encouragement of one another as we see His day approaching.
Shalom,
YehsuaChristo