“My third-grade teacher cried all day, and I didn’t know why,” James told me recently. Read Revelation 16:17-21. James was reflecting on the tragic events of September 11, 2001. When James got on the bus after school, he asked his older sister why everyone was so sad. She said, “It’s the end of the world.” Earlier that day, terrorists hijacked four planes. Two planes struck the World Trade Center. One plane struck the Pentagon. One plane was overtaken by passengers and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The world stopped turning as we absorbed the enormity of the catastrophe. Time stood still as people watched the plumes of smoke ascending in New York City and Washington, D.C. James’ parents were stunned and did not speak. James had read about the end of the world in a children’s version of the Book of Revelation and how objects fell from the sky and killed the people. He anticipated the impending end of the world during his childhood and is always in the back of his mind now as an adult. Twenty-five years later, at the age of 34, James has begun to speak about how the terrorist attack on 9/11 impacted his life. The image of people jumping from the World Trade Center to avoid burning alive is forever embedded in his memory. Constant television coverage of the event and the anxiety about what would happen next left him feeling anxious from morning until evening and even disturbed his sleep. We don’t know when the world will end or what tomorrow will bring. The Book of Revelation is often used to scare us. God originally gave John the vision of Revelation to share with us so we would put our hope in God even in the darkest hour. God is with us. God will help us through every situation. We can find healing by trusting in Jesus. Jesus is with us in our trauma and suffering and wants us to lean on him to find healing. You may still be suffering from the trauma of 9/11. Maybe there was a different traumatic event in your life that you carry, and it is weighing you down. If so, make a healthy choice for yourself and talk to someone about it. Perhaps a health professional can help you work through what you’ve been carrying. Jesus wants us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. There is hope for James. There is hope for all of us. 

Come Holy Spirit, send the power of your touch to those who are still hurting from a past trauma. As they lean on you, hold them up. Transform their despair into hope. Amen.