Lessons I Learned From 9/11

As a licensed New York City tour guide, I feel called to help make sure younger Americans know what happened on 9/11 and how the attacks changed the world.

I regularly speak to kids in schools and churches, in addition to the young people in my tour groups, to make sure they know the facts and figures about September 11, 2001. I tell them about the planes; the Twin Towers; the Pentagon; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and the almost 3,000 people who died, including several hundred who rushed to the burning buildings in an attempt to save victims.

America lost its innocence that day, I tell them.

But as a Christian, I also want young people to understand the significant spiritual lessons I have learned in the wake of 9/11.

There Is Great Evil in This World

The 9/11 attacks awakened me to a level of evil I had never personally experienced. And being exposed to pure, undisguised evil up close shook me to my core.

In this fallen world, I expect that the younger generations will also face events like 9/11 in their lifetimes, even though I pray nothing that dramatically destructive will occur again. But even if young people never directly experience terrorism or some other type of disaster, all of them will come to their own personal “ground zero” at some point in their lives because of the fallen nature of humans.

The Bible is clear: In this world we will have trouble. But the Bible is just as clear that we should take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33).

I want young people to know that they never have to face those inevitable situations without Jesus. It’s simply unbearable to deal with such troubles without God guiding you through.

There Is Help in Christian Community

In the aftermath of 9/11, my husband and I struggled. Living only a few blocks from the World Trade Center site, we found ourselves unemployed, homeless, and experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Although therapy helped ease some of our symptoms, we needed more healing power to help us cope. We found that help in the Christian community. When we began to attend church services after the attacks, we were heartily welcomed and encouraged to dive right into church activities. We joined group Bible studies, participated in outreach programs, volunteered with church ministries, and even went on a mission trip a couple years later. The more we became involved, the more our faith deepened. The church body corporately helped us gain equilibrium after the trauma we had experienced.

The Bible speaks volumes about the importance of living in community with other believers (Col. 3:12-15). Our fellow Christians are meant to act as accountability partners, a support system through life’s valleys, and adopted family members who are there for each other. When God speaks of loving your brothers and sisters, He doesn’t give exceptions for those who adopt different political ideas or practice different baptism rituals. He wants us to live in community with each other even though He knows we are a disparate crew. All together, we make up a body of Christ that isn’t meant to be divided, and a body like that will make all the difference in dark days like 9/11.

We Need to Help Others in Need

The attacks unleashed a fury of horrific death and mayhem that caught most of us by total surprise. In the weeks and months after 9/11, those who lost family and friends and those who survived the attacks needed help to navigate the new normal in their lives.

Christians, we need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22), and that means aiding people in distress. We are called to take action. That could involve offering a listening ear to a hurting individual, making a donation to an organization addressing needs, or joining a team effort to alleviate suffering. 

My experiences after the 9/11 attacks proved to me how important these actions can be, and the suffering and pain I felt after 9/11 helped me relate better to others who were going through their own troubles.

I want young people to remember what the Bible teaches — that the world is not our home; our earthly roots should be in Christ alone, because our final citizenship is in heaven. As a result of that assurance, we have the freedom to give away to others in increasing measure as we follow Christ’s command to go.

Greater Truths

Most people consider the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington to be the deadliest terrorist attacks in world history. It’s important for young people to learn about the details of those attacks in order to remember the losses of that day; the sacrifices that were made. But it’s also important for them to learn about God’s faithfulness during those dark days.

As Christians, we have other lessons to ponder as well. It shouldn’t take a terrorist attack to remind us of the presence of evil or the importance of helping others or how to live as Christians in community. But when such attacks happen, we can be assured that Jesus will be with us, just as He promised.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

To read my story of survival in the aftermath of 9/11, see "Out of the Shadows of 9/11".