I recently heard a teenager say she loved attending the 9/11 memorial service in our town because she “loves history”. I almost laughed because Tuesday, September 11, 2001, doesn’t seem like history to me. It seems like yesterday.
I wonder if my grandmother, born in 1930 would have laughed if I told her Pearl Harbor Day was ancient history to me? She was only 11 years old when it happened, but I bet she remembers the fear and shock that reverberated through the country. Why didn’t she ever tell me about December 7, 1941? Why didn’t I ask her?
I want my kids to know about the terrorist attack on 9/11, now called Patriot’s Day because it is a piece of history I experienced first hand. I also want them to know because I want them to be able to look at what is happening in our world today and see God’s hand.
So, how can we talk to our kids about 9/11and God?
First, tell them the truth.
Focus on the facts of what happened. There were terrorists who highjacked planes because they wanted to destroy America and its citizens. It wasn’t an accident or a terrible mistake. It was an actual attack.
More and more, our culture is sweeping aside words like “evil” and “sin” for the more palatable “messy” and “preference”. Our kids do need to know that the enemy comes to “steal, kill and destroy.” (John 10:10)
Of course, your kids don’t need to see every detail or the play by play we saw unfolding on the news that horrible day. But, simple books and websites can show the details in kid-friendly ways.
