Defining Moments

Wow. It's hard to believe it's been seven years. Seven years to the day since planes crashed into the twin towers, the pentagon, and a field in PA. September 11, 2001 was a defining day for America as a country but also for many individual American's whose lives were forever changed by the events. Most people can tell you where they were when they first heard the news. But what I think is even more notable is the shift in mindset that occurred on that day.

We went from being a country that read about terrorism to a country that bears the scars of terrorism. No longer are we able to think of terrorism as something that happens "over there." Instead terrorism is a word that's thrown around a lot in our current political climate. We are more aware of terrorist threats and more and more families have emergency plans with kits stashed in their basements "just in case."

Often it is these really tramatic events that become defining moments in our lives. Sometimes it's a national terrorist attack, sometimes it's the death of a loved one, sometimes is a violent personal attack like a rape or mugging. Regardless of what the particular event is, these things leave their scars on us, and we are never the same again. It may be a loss of our sense of security, or a shift in our identity because a family member is no longer alive.

But sometimes these defining moments are really good things. Maybe you became the first person in your family to graduate from college. Maybe your defining moment was the first time you held your child in your arms. Maybe it was the day you said, "I do."

In truth, we all have many defining moments. Granted some of them are larger than others but in truth, it is often a combination of moments in life that lead to who we understand ourselves to be. As I think about it, the two most defining moments in my life, were the day Scott and I decided to get married, and the day I gave into the call God had placed on my life. Both of those things forever changed the course of my life. They both changed how I viewed myself, and the how I think about the world.

What were some of your defining moments?