I was watching a 9/11 documentary on Hulu this morning. I couldn’t help but cry as I saw people hanging out of those smoky windows. People, with no hope of being rescued, leaping into the air after it was determined to be the best of two very grim options. My lip quivered listening to answering machine messages of sons saying goodbye to mothers and wives saying goodbye to husbands. “Please tell the children I love them always.” My eyes teared for the co-workers who went back in to save others but never came out again or those, who lagged behind the crowd, refusing to leave an injured stranger behind. I cried for the unimaginable trauma those people endured on that terrifying day. A day that could only be described as a living nightmare. Their desperation. Their fear. Their hopelessness. Their pain. Their confusion. I cried for them- those people who were physically present and what they experienced. But, I think some of my tears were for how many lessons we’ve forgotten since then. 

On that day, we didn’t have a sprawling list of prerequisites in order for someone to qualify to receive our care and compassion. We didn’t stop to ensure that political affiliations or stances on social issues lined up with ours before dispensing our assistance. There were no checklists to be completed in order to prove someone’s worthiness of our love and concern. We didn’t give careful examination of skin color or background or religious views or personal records before we deemed them eligible for our sympathy. On that day, we didn’t care about any of that. It was enough that they were our fellow man. Created by God, the Father, and in need of His mercy just like us. If only that was still enough, today. 

God, help us find our way back to that place where it’s enough.