Sixteen years ago...

September 11, 2000, I was studying on the third floor of the music building. I'm not really sure why my friend and I chose the music building for the study session, because it was a test for a health and wellness course. But we did...

During that same time, a fellow music major I had never met was headed up to practice for his senior recital. It wasn't surprising that we hadn't met--he was an upperclassman and a vocal major, so our paths really had no reason to cross. Except they did...

Our first (of many) Chickfila lunch dates

You probably have guessed by now (or you've heard the story so many times that you could tell it yourself;-) that 9-11-00 was the night I met DH. It seems like forever ago, and yet if I shut my eyes right now, I can picture it all just as if I were still sitting on that bench on the third floor 16 years ago...

A year later, I found myself walking to that same building when a friend stopped me and shared what was all over the news. People who were heading in for just another day of work...people who were just taking a flight to get home...people who's plans changed last minute and placed them on one of those planes or in one of those buildings...I can't begin to fully imagine the horror felt by those closest to those people...

So what do those two years have in common, other than a date? When I think of what happened on 9-11-01, I think of total upheaval. I think of literal ashes...but then I also think of the strength and the beauty of the American people coming together to stand as one. And when I think of 9-11-00, I see the start of a journey filled with upheaval and ashes, yet a God who has made beauty and given strength through it all for these past sixteen years. We don't always have control over our circumstances, but we always have control over our response to them. Fifteen years ago, the American people chose to respond with a message of unity. And sixteen years ago, Michael and I began a journey that would test that very thing in us over and over again. 

In no way do I compare the struggles of my life to the struggles faced by others, but I can't help but reflect on these two dates in my own personal timeline and how they have impacted my life. 

sitting on the same bench I was sitting at when I met DH

God continually reminds me that He is ultimately in control. He is the one who directs our steps, and while man may try to alter the course, in the end, we know HE will conquer. We have to choose which side we are going to be on though. Will I let anger engulf me and fear cripple me, or will I stand on the Rock?

So today, I reflect on the past while I gaze toward the future, and I ask the Lord to help me stand firmly upon His truths. And oh, how I thank Him for placing such an incredible man in my life who shows Jesus to me every single day! As DH sang this morning while leading God's people in worship, I echo his heart's cry to not fear the war or the storm but be confident that God is always with us, no matter what.