We Remember...

Six years ago on this day our world was forever changed. Most of the people living during this time, and especially in my generation, define the terrorist attacks of 9/11 as the most defining historical moment in their lifetimes. As I sit here and type this I am watching the Memorial Service at Ground Zero. I am listening to names being read by various people...Each name represents a story, a family, a life that was ended. With each name, comes family left behind, lives changed, a story of a life left unfinished because of this tragedy...It is so easy for us to view something like this as a national tragedy, to see it as a world-wide event...But it was not just a national or a worldwide tragedy...These were family tragedies, tragedies that involved the loss of husbands, wives, children, parents, family, friends...And as these names are being read, every now and then, the speakers will read a name in this way: "And my _______ (friend, brother, cousin), (insert name here)." This event that we remember today is truly a national tragedy. It is truly a worldwide tragedy. But it is also much deeper than that...It involves thousands of personal tragedies...And so today we pause as a nation to remember those gone and those left behind...And we remember...May we never forget that those affected by this great tragedy are people, just like us, with stories, just like ours...