11 September 2017

Today is a day filled with tragedy and memories of tragedies.  Two major hurricanes have caused immense destruction throughout our southern regions; we are remembering the great hurricanes of the past, including Katrina; and this is the anniversary of the attacks of 9/11.  It reminds us of how little we control the world, and how vulnerable we are.  Life can change in a moment.

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9/11 is always an emotional memory for me.  Today I heard the early broadcast of a Focus on the Family program about a man who survived the twin towers and credited GOD with that blessing.  (http://focusonthefamily.org)  I cried a lot during the short testimony about that day, but I wasn't just crying for the program's content... I was crying because it happened.  I was remembering.  I was thinking about what it meant to our country.

For me, the attacks of 9/11 are a turning point in America's history... I call it the the day God's Hand of Protection left America.  We have been denying GOD in our national decisions, it was only a matter of time before God would stop protecting us from judgment.  Pearl Harbor was the only attack from outside sources I could think of as the last time we suffered like this...and that was so far away.  We might have lost our President or our Congressional leaders if Flight 93 had made it to their destination.  Our military was attacked via the Pentagon.  I don't know what was in those two buildings, but they had great meaning to the attackers... They went first.

The attacks of 9/11 changed the fields of battle, too.  Planes of any kind are now potential weapons.  Since that time, suicide car bombs in foreign nations have become backpack bombs left at big events here in the USA... or heavy trucks that roll over innocent spectators or holiday shoppers.  To avoid gun control issues, we are seeing simple everyday knives or cheap machetes become desperate weapons of terrorism against ordinary people in ordinary spaces.  Schools and churches are easy targets for anyone with a cause to get into the media.  We can never really be safe again... we are vulnerable in ways no one ever considered before.  Technology battles are a field of battle we don't know if we will keep winning.

Even if we were a police state, we would still be vulnerable.  How we continue our lives in the face of these growing threats will define us as a nation.  Fear may destroy us if we try to control every possibility...every person... every potential weapon.  Controlling every detail of millions of people's lives is an impossible goal.  The best we can do is to find a rational way to prepare... for prevention, fighting back, and recovery.  I guess my key word here is "rational" -- something reasonable... not becoming a police state, maintaining our personal freedoms.

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I was homeless when 9/11 happened.  I was living in my van in Oregon.  I don't remember how many days it was before I discovered what had happened, but it was years before I watched any of the video coverage of the planes hitting the twin towers.  I didn't have a smartphone, or internet, or computer, or tv, or radio.  I was too busy surviving being homeless.

For me 9/11 is a spiritual event... it is a turning point in our relationship with GOD.  I don't know if we can ever go back to our blessed status.  We were attacked on our own soil.  It is a sign about our place in the world, how things are changing, and a warning about what is coming.  I wrote "America" because of 9/11... You can link to it at my website homepage ::  http://work2gather.us

We need to change the way we do things, individually and as a nation.

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It's almost time to end this post, but I want to add that I have been seeing some of the destruction from the hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and the surrounding areas.  I heard on a news report somewhere that recovering from Katrina, which is still not done, cost over 100 BILLION dollars.  Some expect the bill to be that and more for these natural disasters.  The debt ceiling has again been lifted to meet these needs.

I see the debt as a credit card for government.  Basically, they are raising their own maximums... and the payments are going to rise with each increase.  We can't afford what we pay now.  Somehow, we need to get the debt down so we have an emergency cushion and our dollar doesn't become worthless, like the Confederacy dollars in the Civil War.  Detroit said it took them 60 years to reach the stage of bankruptcy.  How long will it take the US government?

I have been praying about these issues for years, looking for answers, looking for better ways of doing things.  I know we can find them, but how will they ever get implemented ?!?  The government controls the process, including taxation for their budget desires.  We cannot continue in these directions financially... It is really impossible.  The consequences will be devastating for every American, but our actions do affect the world so the entire globe will be affected.

I am in tears sometimes when I watch the pain of other people and there is nothing I can do.  We can't control the weather, or earthquakes, or fires, or any natural disaster... but we can control our budget, our wages to government employees, our programs for subsidies, our tax levels and sources, our program contributions, our priorities.  Government is just one source of funding.  We need a solution that creates opportunities for other community-level involvements.

I know we can find them, but is government really able to decrease its power, its wages, its control, its bargaining for benefits mentality.

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

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May God help us to find a way to change.
May our priorities be better than they are.
May we put our nation ahead of ourselves.
May our people find good solutions to our problems.
May we see the ability of the government to earn through other ways than taxation.
May our taxes be fair, to all Americans.
May America discover the protection of God again.

May those who are suffering find strength to make it through this difficult time.
May the water recede quickly, may power be restored soon, may food and shelter be available for all who need it.
May those spending the money we give use it wisely, frugally, as it is needed... saving what they can for later.
May those who can give money find a place to share their bounty.
May this Christmas season become a time of renewed joy for those who cannot see happiness in their future.
May we all remember the suffering for as long as they need our help.
Amen.