Rarely do I find myself longing for ignorance, but September 11th is always a day I wish we could all not know. I wish it were a day like all others as opposed to a day where we are haunted by just how vulnerable we all are, a day where we all realize we are only seconds away from life never being the same again.
Today Little-Flower was perched in my lap as usual while I scrolled through my newsfeed. She saw one of the pictures of the Twin Towers on fire. “What’s that, Mommy? What’s that?”
I ran my fingers through her hair and quietly said, “Something you will learn about for the rest of your life, but not today.” Fortunately, her two year old mind was already concentrated on something else. However, mine was reflecting on her ignorant innocence. Her little mind does not know yet of the evils of this world. Reality will enter her life at some point, but for now all she knows is the safety of the world she lives in.
I envied her a bit. On September 11, 2001 our minds were forever robbed of the safety and security of the world she still lives in. The good of the world was diminished in our realization of the hate that exists. We could no longer feel immune to the horrors that occur in other countries. This was our country, our soil, our men and women who lost their lives that day.
What the terrorists did not live to see was how our country rose to the occasion. They may have taken our innocence, but they can never take away is our sense of connectedness. Although many of us did not lose loved ones that day, we all still came together to surround those impacted with prayer. We banded together to support the loved ones that were left behind.
The terrorists may have won in the moment, but in the days to come, we showed them that no matter how they feel about our nation, we will stand together in overwhelming love for each other. Hopefully, as Little-Flower grows to learn of this day in history, she will not only learn of the horrors, but also of the love that poured out in the days that followed. Her innocence may be diminished, but her faith in humanity as a whole will grow.
So, just as we cannot un-know the events from that day, we cannot un-know the love that followed. The beauty in pain. #NeverForget
From My Plan To His 