17 years ago, as a 17 year old, I heard the news of 9/11 over the radio on my way to school. My English class sat silently, as the news developed, as the world as we knew it changed.
Today, it occurred to me that prior to that day, my focus of study was on Math and Science. And since that day, I’ve studied History, Philosophy, International Relations, and Theology. I’ve applied myself toward understanding this world and its people, with hopes of making a positive difference.
It’s been a switch from certainty to story, from problem-solving to balancing and tension – an exploration of mystery.
And through it all, there has been a constant. The words of Psalm 46, written a few millennia ago, still ring true today:
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.