Remembering 9/11 and 9/12

Yesterday was the 5 year anniversary of 9/11. These are busy days for us, so I didn't have much time to think about that event until the 8:00 p.m. news last night. Around 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center bombings, as well as others at the Pentagon bombing and attempted White House bombing that heroes like Todd Beamer (a Wheaton graduate) and others prevented. Included in the WTC victims were 300 firemen from New York.

The world is a different place now. "We're not in Kansas any more Dorothy." If it did seem like a safe place before then, it doesn't seem as safe now.

In Paris, we've lived through other terrorist bombings well before 9/11. My wife missed being at the Port Royal RER B station by 20 minutes in 1996 or 1997 when it was bombed.

However, the possibility of previously unthinkable acts like crashing an airplane into a building seems increasingly real. Since then, the West has had the bombings in Madrid, Spain on 3/11, as well as the London bombings in July 2005. There have been other terrorist attacks as well in places like Bali and Kenya.

It appears like a recent planned attack involving at least 10 planes heading from the U.K. to the U.S. was foiled this past summer. It is reported that these would have involved cell phones and a combination of liquids. When we travelled back to France 2 weeks ago, we couldn't have any liquids, hair gel, toothpaste, etc. with us in our carry-on luggage. The new rattle that my wife bought our 7 month old had to get left, as it had water in it.

5 years after 9/11, I can say that I don't live in fear of terrorism. That is, my life isn't paralyzed by this fear. If I lived in the Middle East, perhaps I would feel this more. Our part of Paris is pretty boring, in a good sense, so it is less likely to have something happen than in other more parts where I have lived. I do remain vigilant when taking public transportation.

But my faith in God is primarily why I'm not afraid. I believe that there have been many times where God and His angels have already protected me and my family from the evil day. Someday I'll probably be able to roll back the film and see the many times where this has happened. But should I ever be face to face with a situation like on the plane that Todd Beamer was on, I trust that God will provide the strength and wisdom that I need.

On a happier note, our eldest daughter was born 3 years ago today. She narrowly missed having a 9/11 birthday by 89 minutes.

We'll be celebrating her birthday with a small dinner today with a couple of recently arrived friends from Hope College in Michigan. One of them, Erin, is from my high school and church in Trenton, Michigan and studying French and dance here this semester. Yesterday our daughter and my wife made chocolate cupcakes to bring today for our daughter's class this morning. Tomorrow we'll have an outdoor celebration for our daughter's friends in a local park.

Got to get showered and ready for today now.