September 11th/Autumn Time

On Saturday, Dave and I went for a run.  The weather was brisk and pleasant.  The sun was shining.  It was great to get outside and exercise after a week of school and work.  There were two things that I reflected on as I ran: 1) the date, September 11th; and 2) the season, with its oncoming harvest.

My thoughts on #1: Out on lawns that we passed, there were flags out to...I don't know the right word to use.  Celebrate September 11th?  That doesn't seem right.  Remind people of September 11th?  That's probably closer to the purpose of the flags.  Either way, I thought quite a bit about the events of that day 9 years ago and how it has affected my life.

I also reflected on the disturbance that this event has caused in the world and in our country.  There are lots of people who have been rejected or discriminated against because they are (or look) Middle Eastern.  There are people who have been attacked and abused for their religious beliefs. There are even Christians who think it is okay to show great disrespect to religious symbols and to the people who hold them sacred as some kind of protest.  I ask, why can't Christians forgive and show respect, even if there is still pain caused by memories of the September 11th attack?  Why can't people who weren't involved in that event be respected and loved?

September 11th should be a day when everyone everywhere thinks about the lives that were lost in the terror attacks, and also about the injustices that have come about and how we can change that.

My thoughts on #2: As Dave and I ran, I noticed lots of signs of approaching fall.  The temperature was fairly low.  There were apple trees and alfalfa fields.  We saw a full pumpkin field the other day, and it was the first time that we had recognized the crop as pumpkins.

I reflected that Autumn time is a time for harvesting again at the end of the year.  We're blessed with so much abundance.  But there's no more time for a farmer to improve his crop.  It has to be harvested how it is.

We (everyone) are going to be harvested by God, whether we're ready or not.  At the end of our lives (which could come any time) we will be judged with how we've acted and the faith that we've had.  We should demonstrate that faith daily.  And as a Christian, I don't think that disrespecting other religious beliefs and texts is a demonstration of faith.  So, beforfe we are "harvested", we need to try today to be the people that God wants us to be.