Walking by the Tiles

On my walk to work are many tiles. It's part of the daily scenery, so some days I don't really see them. Other days I really do notice them, and remember the day they commemorate, September 11, 2001.

It was a day that is memorable for many of us. I was in NYC at the time, working for the high tech firm I still work for. We were a small office then, about 40 people in New York. On that morning, we were anticipating the first visit from our new CEO; he was coming in from California that day to meet us all.
A woman in our office got a call, stood up at her cube and said, "A plane just hit the World Trade Center." Immediately I had three thoughts. 1 - That was a really big mistake. 2 - My mom is going to worry! 3 - The verse I'd memorized that very week :

2 Peter 3
¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

And I was comforted. Strangely, I felt that God knew somehow that this would happen. The heavens were on fire right before my eyes. And the evil that brought this to be was in fact evil. In the future, in Heaven, God will see a perfectly just world. Although our world is filled with evil, it is not beyond God's notice. He is kind to point us toward the future - Heaven - and His perfect world of righteousness.

As a footnote, I'm happy to say that God allowed the phone lines to stay up long enough for me to call my mother, grandmother, and brother. Gratefully all those I knew in the city were well, and the memory of the day, though difficult, is highlighted by the memory of His promise of the future new heavens and new earth.