Sunday, November 25, 2001
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Sunday, November 25, 2001 |
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Thanksgiving different since Sept. 11 By MARY JANE HOLT It's that time of the year again. The time that sets me to thinking about that for which I am most thankful. "Thank you, Lord" is my most common prayer. Sometimes it is my only prayer. When I start to saying my thank yous, it's like all the requests that were waiting their turn to be aired just kind of fade into nothingness. There's something about being able to recognize God's blessings that in and of itself diminishes the effect of life's tragedies. No doubt this has been America's year for thinking about tragedy. No matter what happened prior to 9-11, no matter how good we had it or thought we had it, it has all been diminished by the events of that fateful September day. Or has it? Could it be that we in America are just starting to recognize for the first time in a long time how good we have it? Last week I received a coupon in the mail: $15 off your next Eddie Bauer or Eddie Bauer home purchase (valid Oct. 31-Nov. 14, 2001). The coupon came Nov. 15. I called the 800 number on the card to inform the company of the arrival date. The line was busy. The line was busy repeatedly. When I eventually (and compulsively) got through I told the gentleman who answered that the card had arrived on the day after the end of the two-week period in which the coupon was valid. He explained how the cards had been mailed well in advance of the date, but they had been mailed third class as is customary with such a promotion. Ordinarily, he explained, there are no glitches, but the events that have occurred on and since Sept. 11 have put a tremendous strain on our mail system and caused the cards to arrive late. He very courteously explained to me how I could still redeem the coupon. Then I said, "Incidents like this make us all want to do something about Bin laden and his followers, don't they?" Even as the words came off my lips, I thought how stupid I sounded. A $15 dated coupon, that I am not even planning to use, does not arrive on time and I say we ought to all go after Bin laden and his kind. The gentleman's response, as his voice broke: "I already have one over there doing his part." I asked for his first name. "Warren," he said. And thus Warren was added to my prayer list. I ask you to pray for him too. Give thanks with me for him and others like him all over the world whose lives are on the line for my freedom and yours. Many are presently expressing concern over freedoms we may lose now because of recent events and all that our government feels is necessary in order to apprehend terrorists throughout this land and beyond. Talk of surveillance equipment and measures like we have never before known makes us nervous. The prospect of being required to carry a government ID card does not set well with many. Buzz words like pupil recognition or even brain mapping make fingerprinting sound obsolete. The truth is freedom is so much more than what we have come to call freedom in this country. Jesus said knowing the truth will set us free. Maybe we are beginning again to recognize what He was talking about. Perhaps we are starting to desire such freedom again, freedom that cannot be taken from us. And so I come to that for which I am most thankful this year. When folks start dying for me and that is exactly what has happened this year I am reminded quite powerfully of the One who died for me 2000 years ago. The truth is you and or I could just as easily have been a passenger of any one of the planes that have gone down in flames to date. We could have been an inhabitant of a home or office building that has been consumed by those flames. We could have lost our lives or the life of one we love. We could have been called upon to go to foreign lands and fight, or send one we love to fight the enemy. And so I am thankful anew for the life Christ lived and gave, and for all those who have lost their lives this year, and who have reminded me once more of all the sacrifices through the ages that have made it possible for me to be alive today. Really alive. Alive in a way that death, as we know it, cannot touch. I also am thankful for all the Warrens (male and female, old and young) who will not be home for the holidays this year. Instead, they stand watch at their point of service so you and I can be at home with those we love.
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