09.12.08

yesterday was 9/11. I heard people talking about it all day at work yesterday. that's what happens when you work at a grocery store. people either talk about the weather, the economy, or politics. my day started with this real nice old man asking me if I remembered where I was....
I was working at Java Detour down in Chico, i'd opened that morning..at 4.45. I was going about my business when my every morning cab driving customer pulled up and told us to turn our stereo to the news. I couldn't believe it. I didn't really know what to think. Al was the last customer that showed up that morning. My boss let us go home early since there was nobody coming through. Driving home, I just felt scared.... unsafe. Of course I called my parents, they didn't really know what to say either; but not to worry-I should be safe down in Chico. I had to work at my other coffee shop later that morning...so as I walked the 8 blocks there I thought alot about America... and then I thought alot about the other countries that hated us so much they'd attack us. I felt sorry for them because I know that their actions had to have had a cause of some sort. I thought of the wives of the men who flew the planes, I thought of the people on the planes, I thought of the firefighters that died saving others. Too much to process. I walked into Moxie's and my boss and some regular every day customers were sitting around the television that Matthew had brought it.... drinking beer.. just sitting quietly. I "worked" 6 hours there. Then walked home. Jill and I were living on West Sac. in Chico in some real ghetto apartments. we were the only whiteys in the complex. it was so quiet on the walk home. nobody was out. for chico, that's weird. . . . strange that it's been 7 years. I remember the first year after 9/11 and everyone thought there would be another attack on the same day. people are funny like that..
anyway, this old man yesterday morning after listening to me tell my story told me where he was. He said he was driving downtown and an Iranian woman was crossing the street in front of him and he wanted to get out of his truck and yell at her to go home...go back to HER country. My heart dropped when I heard this.... this is why America is the way it is people. We treat other countries like crap. We have made America look so glorious and extravagant that yea, of course everyone wants to come live here. Don't get me wrong-I'm glad I live here but sometimes I wish I didn't. . . .
we as Christians especially have a higher reason to love these people of other countries...and I know it's easy to get all political and all patriotic..but I'm sorry-we're supposed to love those people to-even the ones that have been responsible for terrorist attacks. Jesus didn't refuse His love to ANYone..so why should we? we're so comfortable as Americans.... that when something like this happens, love goes out the window. it's stupid. we get so caught up in what people are doing or have done that we forget to love the people. remember that old saying "hate the sin, love the sinner".. yea-that's what we're supposed to do. We have to walk so people know that we're different. We have to talk so that people will hear nothing but love. We have to act like we actually care about everyone. We have to live so that Jesus shines through. We have to love.
simple as that.

we have to love.



We love. from the Stirring on Vimeo.