Turn Points

“Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him.  ‘If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure.  Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.’”  (John 8.31, 32) 
 
Three years ago a person I valued as a friend died along with three thousand and twenty-nine other human beings.  The shock, horror, and emotional impact of what transpired became, for many, a point that everything else is measured in relationship to.  Before the event, after, and during are distinct periods of time with individual histories, emotional highs and lows, and doors of entry and exit.  Most of life is a series of extended curves with a hairpin or two thrown in to slow things down.  The 11th of September changed lives, permanently.
 
I wonder if this is true for everyone.  The visits to New York, conversations with others who have lost friends and family in disaster, suggest a different picture.  For many the turn point has and continues to shape the future.  Yet others are on a path that comes with one of two descriptions.  One path is pursuing what was, in the hope of recovering enough of yesterday to make sense of today and tomorrow.  The other path is one of denying anything existed in the past, today is all there is, so live as if the past never was.  Forget friends, experiences, and the life that was.  Ignore lessons learned and ensure yesterday’s events are not recognized in life today.
 
God offers each of us a turning point.  The moment in time comes as one realizes Divinity is all about compassion, mercy, and love.  It is found in the relationship we have with the Divine.  It is played out in the lives we share.  God’s turn point changed my life in ways I am still discovering.  My prayer is for you and your turn points; may your story always help you see God’s love, experience the Spirit, and share new reality that is fully yours.