No, I dont want to return to normal!!!

IS THIS NORMAL?
Four thousand gathered for mid-day prayer in a downtown cathedral. A New York City church, filled and emptied six times last Tuesday. The owner of a Manhattan tennis shoe store threw open his doors and gave running shoes to those fleeing the towers. People stood in lines to give blood, in hospitals to treat the sick, in sanctuaries to pray for the wounded.

America was different this week. We wept for people we did not know. We sent money to families we've never seen. Talk-show hosts read Scriptures, journalists printed prayers. Our focus shifted from fashion hemlines and box scores to orphans and widows and the future of the world.

We were different this week. Republicans stood next to Democrats. Catholics prayed with Jews. Skin color was covered by the ash of burning towers. This is a different country than it was a week ago.

We're not as self-centered as we were. We're not as self-reliant as we were. Hands are out. Knees are bent. This is not normal. And I have to ask the question, "Do we want to go back to normal?"

Are we being given a glimpse of a new way of life? Are we, as a nation, being reminded that the enemy is not each other and the power is not in ourselves and the future is not in our bank accounts?

Could this unselfish prayerfulness be the way God intended for us to live all along? Maybe this, in his eyes, is the way we are called to live. And perhaps the best response to this tragedy is to refuse to go back to normal.

Perhaps the best response is to follow the example of Tom Burnet. He was a passenger of flight 93. Minutes before the plane crashed in the fields of Pennsylvania he reached is wife by cell phone. "We're all going to die," he told her, "but there are three of us who are going to do something about it."

We can do something about it as well. We can resolve to care more. We can resolve to pray more. And we can resolve that, God being our helper, we'll never go back to normal again.

Max Lucado

I, for one, do not want to return to normal! It is up to us as a nation to see that our lives never return to normal but change in a positive way to benifit each and every one of us. We received our wake up call, I do not want to ever be lulled again to sleep!

Romans 13:10 Love worketh no ill(destructive evil) to his neighbor; therefor love is the fulfilling of the law.
13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time we awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
13:12 The night is far spent. The day is at hand: let us therefore casst off he worls of darkness and let us put on the armour of light.
13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in roiting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

I did not post this to start a war. If you do not like what I you were reading you did not have to continue. I posted this to inspire those who wished to be inspired. It is time for a change. We have already begun that change...let it continue!

This message was edited Friday, Sep 21st 12:30 PM

AMEN, fivekulps. I think you have said it for all of us.
I have nothing to add,but to thank you for posting this.
God Bless
CoCo

ummm,,ahhh this is true,,but well I know this is a christian based sight and I fully respect that..I do wish that people would realize that those of us who do not practice god based religions have many of the same feelings,,about what has been going on with the world we may not pray as you do,, we may send our positive thoughts ,,we share the same world and some of us have went back to normal ,,that normal for some of us happens to be living our life that many are digging deep down and finding only because of this crisis,,personally my family did not need the tragedy to realize what is really important in life,,we have never lived by the dollar,,we have always done what we can for not only our brothers and sisters of the human family but for all of mother earths children from the animals to the trees,,,our life has always been based around others not lived with selfish abandon or hatred,,,,Normally I would not say a word but right now all across the internet I see so many christians who talking as you are,,and they tend to forget that while they are turning to god and the bible to help them get through this troubled time they do not realize that some of the comments they make can come across as slightly insulting to others who do not share their beliefs.....Personally I believe that anything that can help to make the world a better place is worthwhile regardless of anyones personal belief or faith.It can easily start with the same respect I have for you for sharing your post,,I hope that you can also respect my post for what it is ..

fiveulps... If we consider these past few days not 'normal', then like you, I don't want to return to 'normal' either. I am so encouraged by how folks around the world have become so much more 'people oriented' these past few days.

Being raised a Christian I have no other base on which to draw from. I do respect all other faiths and as I wrote I did not post to start a war, but to inspire those who wish to be inspired.

When gathered in debate we all need to uderstand what is being said from the view from the other side. The views are always different from where we stand. Case in point, people feel insulted because they do not understand the heart behind it. It is much easier to ask and be answered than to jump to conclusions and get hurt and hurt others. That is not the purpose of this site. We are here to nurture each other. We all have many things to offer everyone here.

Thank you for agreeing with me and I do feel that both of our hearts and feelings are headed in the very same direction.

I am new here but have read some of the posts and well they kinda scared me from posting much.I was raised with religion and understand it well,,LOL,I tend to actually look past the religious comments to the person myself..This is one thing I have learned through the years ,,, perhaps this will help explain,,,,For many of us it is not actually that we feel insulted because we do not understand that it is coming from ones heart,,, but at times it comes across as ummmm well condesending,, I guess one could say,,because so many of us have had bad experiences with religious people who were not always what they claimed to be ,,
I know many religious people who do not take the time to learn about our beliefs before jumping to conclusions we are bad,, it all comes down to ignorance really,, both sides need to be open to respect each others choices by communicating that is something that I have always been willing to share as long as I am not being condemned ,,,
personally I am inspired by the fact that many are finding that life has many other aspects,,that some of us have enjoyed all along,,we all have good hearts it is nice to see that we have some of the same hopes and dreams for the world,,,,regardless of our faith choices,,

Amen...which actually means SO BE IT

amen fivekulps

Serenity, Beautifully said.

Let's hope no one forgets what happened and we really beginto put manKIND first before selfishness and remember we are al this earth together for a short time and we all begin to practice "Love your neighbors as yourself..."- Christian or not.... let's all do what we can to put an end to this terrorism- the terrorists put fear into veryone's lives around the world- not just here with what happened last week- many countries have been living with this for years.... it's time we ALL do something and say NO MORE!
-JSS

THANKS JSS
LOVE IN CHRIST
NANA

You are all absolutely correct, everyone of you. Isn't it true though that it does take a crisis to bring out the best in people - just a shame that it can't be that way all the time. However it does show that people really are decent after all - they just get too busy and wrapped up in themselves in 'normal' times!!