September 2026 – maggiemarcum

…is is hard not to.

We all have our stories about that horrible morning on September 11, 25 years ago. We all remember where we were when the first plane hit. We remember sitting in front of our TVs when the second plane hit, and then the Pentagon and hearing about Pennsylvania and Flight 93. Even those who were young children that day, can’t seem to forget it either. It was just so overwhelming and unbelievable.

For any of us anywhere near these tragic moments, I think it hits even harder. I remember it was a late morning for me because my daughter’s school had just started and I hadn’t yet gone into work. I was just getting ready to leave, after watching the second plane hit, when my boss called and said our government building was being evacuated and stay home. We weren’t sure if we too were a target following the attack on the Pentagon. We waited the hours to hear about colleagues working at the Pentagon to know if they were safe. Some were physically safe, but never mentally or emotionally safe again after that. And some were forever lost.

Do you remember what it was like around the Washington DC area? The streets were quiet. The stores closed. We walked in the evening looking up as fighter planes flew over. It seemed like it went on forever. We walked around like zombies in full shock. Churches and other places of worship were full as we all sought some sort of understanding and peace about what had happened. Our family would later join others in prayer vigils near the Pentagon.

As the days unfolded, turning to months and now years, September 11 will always be a painful day. Try not to watch too much of the news. It’s easy for us to be re-traumatized. I remember it was one of the first times we all sat glued to the TV watching over and over and over what happened. There’s no need to do that again today. Those memories are wired into our brain, never to be forgotten.

This is a day to reach out to those you love and remind them how much you love them. It is a day to spend some time in quiet prayer, praying for families and friends impacted by this tragedy. It is a day to set aside politics and remember that this was an attack on all of us. And it is a day to remember that The Divine remains The Divine and we are not alone.

We often say our lives were changed for the better following the attacks. Those first few weeks and months, we seem to have been kinder to one another. We needed to be so gentle because the pain was so overwhelming. As we watched the trauma of digging out in New York, the clearing of the Pentagon, and the resolve of those in Pennsylvania, we all tried to stand a little stronger and a little kinder. If nothing else today, let us remember to be those people again. Say hello to your neighbor, nod your head, knowing that together we feel the pain and let us also feel hope.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”– 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Finding the Divine in Nature

Earlier this week I had the privilege of sharing my writing as part of an exercise in creation for our ecumenical community at The Coracle. As the church continues to celebrate the season of creation, I invite you to consider a new way of looking at the world around you, especially the gardens and grounds that we frequently simply pass by as part of our normal day. Experience all that The Divine has created with a new openness.

Creation is all around us and we can especially find the Divine in the beauty of the garden – in the smallest of creatures that crawl on the green leaves, held in place by a vine leading to a strong branch, and an even stronger tree trunk.

The more we are outside- the more we can begin to see creation abounding. The more we are in creation, we step out from the flesh and into the whole of creation – the gift of life for all, from The Maker. We are invited to take a new look, to explore the unfamiliar, or familiar, from a new perspective. When needed, we step in and see that which is neglected or in need of restoring.

Author Thor Hanson in his book, Close to Home, suggests we consider three ways of experiencing creation in and around us: in Seeing, Exploring, and Restoration. The invitation today as you walk in the gardens, walk to the ocean or hills, or help plant new creation is to stop and gaze, see, feel, hear, taste God’s presence and to seek his guidance as you step, or sit in the completive companion which is nature.

We begin with a focus toward Seeing:

John Burrough’s Leaf and Tendril said: “The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is ‘look under foot.’ Every place is under the stars; every place is the center of the world”

In Job we hear:

“Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.
    Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
⁸Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.
    Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
⁹For they all know
    that my disaster^[ has come from the hand of the Lord.
¹⁰For the life of every living thing is in his hand,
    and the breath of every human being.

Job 12: 7-10

As you look out today, consider the simple insect – do we just hear the buzzing around us or do we pause and also see the magnificent design of the wings and the body? Do we strain to look closer?

Be curious like a little child. Be aware and relearn how to tap into your senses to perceive the tiny details with wonderment.

How is the Divine inviting you to reorient your way of looking and seeing?

Consider Exploring, as J R R Tolkien wrote in The Hobbit: “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something.”

When we turn to scripture, we read in Isaiah 40:

Look up into the heavens.
    Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
    calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
    not a single one is missing.

Look again in the familiar garden or backyard — what is new today? What has been unseen? A new insect? New flower bud? Be curious. Look again. Invite the Creator to reveal creation.

Look up! Look down! Look past where you normally gaze, and gaze as God does on the beautiful.

What captures your gaze and causes you to linger? What enchants you? What are you seeking from the Divine to reveal today?

Restoring takes time and commitment. Sir Thomas Quiller-Couch in On the Art of Reading shared: “Where there is freedom to experiment there is hope to improve.”

David said it even better in Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.

That is true for the land and for our soul. We can easily become diverted, yet the Creator calls us back again and again to grow into the New. We come from one place to another- called by the Divine. Restoration begins where we are. The ground that needs weeding. The bench to repair. The feeder to fill. The branches to trim. The new soil to lay and plant seeds that will blossom into newness. All of which we must tend to with regular attention to sustain growth.

Where is God showing you to turn over the soil and plant something new? Where does the Creator want your attention placed- to water and till?

Roam now and see, hear, smell, and taste creation- a gift from the One who loves us and sustains us on this planet. Linger in the aroma of Great Spirit Creator, the wonder of the Maker of Life, and know the love of Creator who sets us Free-Jesus. (These beautiful names are drawn from First Nations Version- An Indigenous)