September 11th, 2018

September 11, 2018
 
              Today is September 11, a solemn day of remembering and mourning for those directly affected in the incidents of 9/11 and for all of us who were affected by the whole tragedy and especially by the feelings of insecurity and loss. We should all be lifting our prayers today in thanksgiving for those who were heroic and giving and in compassion for those who have lived with the death of dear ones that day.
              Today is September 11, a day which is also a major landmark in my life, for today is the “launch date” of my book, “Walking at the Speed of Light.” Morgan James Publishing and I made the mutual decision to have the book release date be today, because my book deals with healing for those suffering from grief and depression. Healing is always needed, but on this day we realize how many people across our land and across the world are suffering.
              I sincerely believe that a book should have a purpose, often just to entertain or to amuse, often to delve into some sort of universal truth – but sometimes to help others. At the time of my son’s death, my focus was on my own pain and grief and on the same things which faced all of our family and friends who were close to him. Little did I know then that the focus would change as I healed and the need would arise to share not only his life and death and my experiences with others but also the faith which had become my focus and had seen me through those experiences.
              I sincerely believe that those changes in focus from self to helping others are a great deal of what Christianity is all about. We are not meant to suffer alone and to allow others to suffer alone. We are meant to take our suffering to Jesus, who knows more about suffering than any of us can ever imagine, and then to realize that others need not only our listening and caring but our encouragement to take their suffering to Him as well.
              Today I am signing books in Fact and Fiction Bookstore in Missoula, Montana. This is a wonderful way to celebrate the launch date of this book which has so much of my heart in it. But it also is a way to honor September 11, to honor the grief we all share.