the day after

Another September 11th.

I'll be honest: This time, it caught me off guard. I missed it.

I barely had the awareness to realize that it was indeed 9/11. It was only after I checked my Facebook in the evening where I saw a flood of "never forget", "always remember" status updates that I "remembered" this day.

And how frustrating it was in that moment to observe people's desperate attempts to try to acheive something we simply cannot do. Because see, one can't "always remember". One can only just remember. The "always" takes the re- out of it.



Just today, as I was walking back from work, I was thinking to myself, how many significant moments have I missed this year? So many birthdays, weddings, farewells, opportunities to love... to advance. I've missed out on things and people that actually matter.

And today, I missed one of the most historically significant moments in modern American history.


Today. What was I doing today? Today was a normal day.

I was feeling kind of miserable so I lay in bed for a good part of the morning. Called in late to work. Worked. Had several meetings afterwards. Checked Facebook. And then, I remembered:

Today is not supposed to be normal.

See, without taking a moment to remember, life gets so monotonously busy that the days blend together and really don't seem very special at all. Without remembering, there is no gratitude, no inspiration, no motivation, no context for the present, no hope for the future. Without remembering, life becomes narrow and small - all about me.


One of the first instances in the Bible where "remember" is given as a command from God to man is this:

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8)

Because even the God of the Universe who created all things specifically set aside a day to pause and rest. The God who 'gives and takes away' specifically created the time and space for people to pause and recognize. And He wanted people to remember: set a day apart and treat it more special than the other days... that from the beginning, there's a difference between the Creator and the created. To remember my existence, the very life that I have now was not my own doing, but God's.

Without remembering, I think I deserve life. But when I remember, I see what's endured - God's mercy. And it leads me to believe once again that all this is not in vain.


I'll be honest: I forgot 9/11 this year. It was just a normal day.

But 9/12 - remember.