The tears came to my eyes early this morning as I watched the moments of silence, the reading of the names of 9/11 victims, and listened to the reading of psalms and the singing of hymns. It’s drained my enthusiasm for writing about business today. It seems that the latest corporate announcements or breaking business news pales in comparison to remembering and reflecting upon that sad day five years ago. The reflection on our changing times began last month, late at night as I turned on the television in my hotel room in California just as the news broke on the London terrorist plot. I held my breath as I listened, prayed and then called my wife in Colorado after midnight. We stayed up the remainder of the night trying to catch a glimpse on the news coverage of our son who was either in the airport or one of the planes. The next morning I flew back to Colorado to meet my wife and to wait for Andrew. He finally arrived home weary, but safe on one of the first British Air flights out of London. And my wife and I thanked God, and finally breathed.

It’s the new normal, isn’t it? Breathtaking global opportunities like my son had experienced are now intersected unpredictably by evil and violence. Whereas before it was unreal and unthinkable, now it’s just unpredictable.

In dealing with the unthinkable and the unpredictable we can live in anxiety, anger, fear or even denial. We all work harder to create and hold onto normalcy. And each challenge to that normalcy whether it is the inconvenience of new airport security measures, the cost of gas, or a real attack makes us more anxious. We feel these things because we tend to view life circumstances as the substance of reality…what we can count on, what we have to work with to make life decisions, to make our lives function. The more these change, the more worried, the more unsettled, the more confused we become. If all we can count on in life are stable circumstances, then we are in real trouble.

Circumstances and world events are not ultimate reality. And they definitely are not the basis of stability and hope. I am struck by the lament of the prophet Jeremiah as he faced unspeakable impending terror to his nation. In the middle of his description of the horrific events that would sweep over him, he declares that his ultimate reality is not the horror, but the hope of God.

One rendition of Lamentations 3:22-23 says,

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Jeremiah’s ultimate reality was the unceasing love of God. This never changed regardless of the circumstances. Jeremiah awoke each morning to the never ending mercy of God. And unlike people who get tired of extending mercy or start running a mercy deficit, Jeremiah knew that he had a full supply of mercy every morning. And Jeremiah counted on God to be absolutely faithful and trustworthy. What an anchor of hope in the midst of horror.

Now when I awaken, I often pray and thank God that the reality of my life is not the events of the day. Instead I know that the reality that embraces me is the fresh and full measure of God’s unfailing compassion, His untiring faithfulness and ever abundant mercy to me. When all else is shaky or shaken, He remains steadfast. Sometimes it is through tears that I have to remind myself what is really real. But when I do, I have hope. Post 9/11, as I wonder about my life, and feel concern for my wife and kids, I remember Jeremiah, and know that the same love, mercy, and faithfulness is the reality that embraces and upholds me and my family in unpredictable times.