March Herald.indd - Lake Union Conference

Freedom Is Coming!
B Y S U S I E C H R I S T E N S O N
The anniversary of the attack on the
World Trade Center caused me to
do some reflecting. Like when JFK
was assassinated, people remember
where they were when it happened.
For me it was B2, middle of the
period. Paul came bursting through
the door, “A plane has hit one of the
twin towers.” At first, I didn’t believe
it. I thought it was a hoax. But when
I realized that it was true, I wasn’t
really sure how to react. I knew I felt
bad for the families who had lost
loved ones, but I felt that as long as
my family was safe, that was all that
really mattered.
September 11 brought out
many different emotions. As a
nation we had become so immune
to the violence from the media
and movies, that we weren’t sure
how to react. It’s almost like our
country was numb to the suicide
bombings and all the killing going
on in other countries, but as soon
as it happened to us, we all went
into utter shock. We couldn’t
believe how anyone could do such
an awful thing to us wonderful
Americans.
Usually after a tragic event
everyone feels bad at first and
claims that things are going to
be different; but after a while,
all those claims seem to just
fade away. But for me, this
one took a little too long to
fade away. Security went
up everywhere. Instead
of it taking an hour at the
airport, it took four. Everyone had
their American flags out rain or shine,
all trying to show how “patriotic”
they could be. All the flags and the
slogans became very cliché.
Chambers and Orchestra had
been planning to go on tour in
the Czech Republic, but because
of September 11, we stayed in the
United States. After lots of prayer
and planning, we decided to go to
the East Coast, stopping in New
York City along the way.
I was excited about that because
I’d never been there before, and
I wanted to see Time Square,
Broadway, Central Park, the Empire
Susie Christenson is a senior at Great Lakes Adventist Academy
State Building, … . When I found
out we would be visiting Ground
Zero I wasn’t all that excited. It had
been broadcast so many times that I
felt pretty much numb to the whole
thing.
While we were there, it really
hit me hard. On the fence by a
church there were pictures, flowers,
candles, and possessions of those
who had died. We talked to a police
officer there and asked if we could
sing a song. Her reply was, “I don’t
have a problem with it, but if my
boss comes out you’ll have to stop.”
So we sang “Freedom Is Coming.”
People stopped in the streets to hear
us sing. I saw a couple of people
crying, and I realized that not only
did it affect those who had lost
loved ones, but me also.
Freedom is coming not only for
those who are angry about what
happened or for those who mourn
the loss of a loved one, but also
for the person who wasn’t directly
affected, like me. With that freedom,
everyone can have assurance that
one day soon our Lord Jesus Christ
will come and take us all home. On
that one and only day we will
truly know that freedom has
come.
Susie Christenson is a senior at
Great Lakes Adventist Academy
in Cedar Lake, Michigan. She
will receive a $100 scholarship for
having her article selected for this
column.
38 • Lake Union Herald, March 2004 Now you can read the Lake Union Herald online.