Scattered 9/11 thoughts

I don't have the eloquence of a poet to properly pay tribute to the victims and families of 9/11, that's been handled by far greater minds than mine. I do want to say something though.

When I came into Rockford after work today the fire department had a truck set up at the main intersection with the ladder spanning Hwy 55 and an American flag hanging. It was parked next to Vergin's Appliance and Video Store. Nobody reading this has probably ever heard of the name Vergin; but those of us who live in Rockford hear that name spoken loud and clear during Memorial Day Services at the cemetary every year when they read the names of Rockford residents who have lost their lives in service to their country. They read off the names by wars, and from WW1 to Viet Nam, there is at least 1 or 2 Vergins cited from each war who were killed in action during service to their country. Who knows how many more Vergins could be living today, but for the heart of these men who answered the call and sacrificed their lives.

Tragedy, suffering, sacrifice and untimely death have been with us since Cain killed Abel, and it will continue until Jesus comes again and establishes His Kingdom upon the earth. The families of people who died during the 9/11 attacks have no less or greater griefs to bear than members of the Vergin families who received the same sad news and had to bear their grief.

There is no scale that can properly measure, nor can comparisons be made, regarding the degree of tragedy and suffering that any individual family undergoes when they lose a loved one
in unexpected (or expected for that matter) circumstances; whether it be due to murder, war, cancer, accidents, etc.

Death is just too hard of a topic to cover in a blog like this. Bottom line: we all have equal opportunity to die in tragic circumstances; we also have equal opportunity to live with the knowledge that death is not the end, but it is the beginning of eternity spent either united with God the Father, Jesus our savior, and the Holy Spirit our comforter, or spent eternally separated from them and condemned to rue choices and decisions made during this short span of time we have on this earth.