Almighty God, we thank You for Your tender care of all who suffered on 9-11 and in the days and months and years following even until today. Thank you for Ann Van Hine, fellow blogger and 9-11 survivor, who so generously shares her journey with us today. AMEN
Late on the evening of September 11, 2001, I opened my door to two representatives of the New York City Fire Department. They came to tell me that my husband, a firefighter, was unaccounted for. With those words, my teenage daughters and I embarked on a journey we had never expected to take.
A few weeks earlier, we were at family camp. A friend’s young child had gotten in trouble, and his dad picked him up to carry him back to the campsite. The child wasn’t happy and had gone kicking and screaming. God helped me see that whether the child went kicking and screaming or resting in his father’s loving arms, he was going on that journey. Now I realized that I had a similar choice: I could rest in the loving arms of my heavenly Father, or I could choose to resist the Lord. Either way, I was on the journey that began with losing my husband.
Through the many years since then, God has carried me. After a time, God put me down to walk. God allowed me to run ahead; and when I stumbled, God picked me up again. The Lord has never left me and has proven trustworthy over and over again.
You can read more from Ann Van Hine (New York, USA) at http://devotional.upperroom.org/blog/2015/09/vanhine091115
Published by The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide for September 11, 2015
Late on the evening of September 11, 2001, I opened my door to two representatives of the New York City Fire Department. They came to tell me that my husband, a firefighter, was unaccounted for. With those words, my teenage daughters and I embarked on a journey we had never expected to take.
A few weeks earlier, we were at family camp. A friend’s young child had gotten in trouble, and his dad picked him up to carry him back to the campsite. The child wasn’t happy and had gone kicking and screaming. God helped me see that whether the child went kicking and screaming or resting in his father’s loving arms, he was going on that journey. Now I realized that I had a similar choice: I could rest in the loving arms of my heavenly Father, or I could choose to resist the Lord. Either way, I was on the journey that began with losing my husband.
Through the many years since then, God has carried me. After a time, God put me down to walk. God allowed me to run ahead; and when I stumbled, God picked me up again. The Lord has never left me and has proven trustworthy over and over again.
You can read more from Ann Van Hine (New York, USA) at http://devotional.upperroom.org/blog/2015/09/vanhine091115
Published by The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide for September 11, 2015
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