Explaining September 11th.

Sitting at McDonald's today with Cara and Julie, I asked them, "Do you think they will talk about September 11 at school today?" Their immediate response: "Surely not in Kindergarten." I wouldn't be surprised - on his second day he got a coloring page home about Internet Safety - not sharing personal information, not chatting with strangers, and reporting anything that "makes them feel uncomfortable." Seriously.

These are the things I struggle with about sending my boy off to public school. I want it to be ME to first discuss these things with him... based on when WE are ready... framed with OUR values.

As I drove home, I started to wonder... if he DOES ask me about 9/11, what will I say? How will I describe what happened that day? Should I? Is he ready? Am I ready?

What happened eight years ago on September 11 must be remembered, but how do you explain it to young children? And when? I want him to know, but don't want him to fear. I want him to know love, but can he truly grasp it without an understanding of hate?

When those planes crashed, Mommys died. Daddys died. Children died. And we really haven't caught the bad guy. We tell him to hold tight to our hands, stay with us, don't go outside without Mommy, don't talk to strangers... We also assure him. God protects us and His angels watch over us and keep us safe. We pray for His protection and He provides. But what happened to those kids? Why didn't God protect them? Could this happen in San Antonio?

What if he asks me these things? What if he asks his teacher? What will a person who is not allowed to speak spiritual truth say to him? How will the words she uses or omits affect his perceptions or understandings?

I want to protect him from these things, but I can't shield him forever. We can keep the television off while he is awake and limit what he sees and hears, but not for long. Soon he will hear and he will read and he mustn't be scared or feel uninformed. He needs to be empowered with truth, and strong enough in his faith and values to understand that we live in a world where people do not believe the same things we do, talk the same way we do, or act how we are commanded to act. But at age 5?

He needs to know that people hate and fall prey to false teaching and deceptive leaders. They kill, they steal, and they destroy. I don't want him to know about the horrific things that happen in our lost world, but perhaps his understanding of the sinful nature of man will be the foundation of his understanding of grace, mercy, and the unconditional love of God. Until he knows about what it means to be lost, can he really understand what it means to be saved?

Do we start this dialogue a month after he turns five years old?

Each year on this day, we take time remember those who died at the hands of people whose hearts were filled with hate. We want to protect our kids from such horrifying things. Unfortunately for over 6000 families that day, they were given no choice. They weren't ready to surrender their kids' innocence either. They weren't ready to expose their kids either. It happened. And it happened to THEM. Still, they have pressed on, forced to live each day in the aftermath of death, loss, sadness, confusion, fear, and anger.

Today I remember and pray especially for THOSE mothers as they relive nightmares, answer impossible questions, dry tears, reassure fears, and fight to keep memories alive. I can't imagine how they must feel today as they try to explain the inexplicable, recall the unthinkable, and make sense of something so incredibly senseless.