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Psalm 46:1-3 & 10

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

This fall has been a tumultuous time. I’m sure that each of us watched in stunned horror when the World Trade Center was attacked. If you are like me, you sat and watched, for hours, the senseless destruction and loss of lives. As I watched the destruction unfold, I kept listening for the sound of a trumpet.

Then I gradually began to focus on the implications of this attack and to think back over the history of the United States since World War II.  When I think of the technological and social changes that have been made since 1945 I realize we have a generation of young adults that have no basis for understanding what they are likely to face in the coming months.

There is a wide diversity in ages in this country. Some are old enough to have memories of WWII, the victory gardens and ration books. Several more of us can remember the occasional radio news broadcast of the fighting in the Korean War. Those of us, who were in school in the 1950’s, remember having air raid drills more often then we had fire drills. Although, what possible protection we would have had by huddling beneath a small wooden desk is very questionable. Some of us remember family or friends building fallout shelters in their yards.

In the 1960’s the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Because America had not been physically attacked there were many people that felt we should not be involved. People burned flags and ran to other countries to avoid being drafted. We had moved into the age of television. Every night there were reports of the fighting and of the protesting.  When our military personnel returned home, they were reviled and ignored.

Since then we have basically been at peace as a nation. We have said we are too strong, no one would dare to attack us. We have been appropriately scandalized by an occasional act of terrorism in some foreign country. We spent a few un-easy months during Desert Storm but never quite felt that it was our war. A few members of our family and friends were doing their duty and we wore a flag or yellow ribbon.

Now, suddenly, we have been attacked on our soil. This is our battle, our war. Will it effect us, those of us reading this web site? I believe that it will. I believe that each one of us is going to be faced with some very hard times, days of separation, anxiety and for some of us deep grief.

I counted up my immediate family members the other day. I have 24 male family members that range in age from 18 to 42. Each of you could come up with a count of your own.

Some people are already saying we need to just arrest the leader of the terrorist group and everything will be fine. That is an illogical statement. History has shown that the arrested terrorist only becomes a martyr to his followers and a new leader would step forward.

Having said all of that, we need to plan for the future. We need to know the unshakable basis of our faith.

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