'' All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players.....They have their exits and their entrances.....and one man in his time plays many parts..." Shakespeare

If ever these words became a reality, they did so on Sept. 11. The mass destruction we witnessed that day resembled a movie production. It was as if after four scenes, the director finally shouted CUT!!!!!!!!! and the audience went away cheering. The chilling reality is NOBODY in America cheered. Sure, the perpetrators cheered, raised flags, and danced in the streets. For centuries, we have read about the terrorist acts against our allies in Israel, Pakistan, Egypt, and throughout the Middle East, but this horror was played out on American soil, leaving us paralyzed, stunned, and in total disbelief. Many have asked, "How could this have happened in America? How could our National Security allow us to be breeched in this way? How could the United States (the greatest nation on the planet) fall victim to terrorism? These questions are real but so is the answer. America is NOT exempt from prophecy. II Chronicles 7:14, declares "If my people (America included) who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven .........and heal their land. Our land is sick, stricken with prayerlessness, sex, violence, drugs, etc. We are not only God's people, our country's pledge( our agreement with God) is "we are one nation under God, indivisible, but we are divided on every front, with liberty and justice, (racial profiling cases have reached an all-time high) for all."

Could a loving God allow this destruction to happen to those he love? NO, he couldn't. God is grieving just as we are, but man's freewill is part of his covenant with the Creator. God will not go against his agreement. Since Adam's fall in the garden, man has been the victim of bad choices. We chose to take prayer out of our schools, away from our sporting events, and prayer directed assemblies were declared unconstitutional. The Declaration of Independence states that our truths are endowed by our Creator. Throughout our history, God has been our central theme. Prayer preceded every action we undertook, and we were successful. Yes, there were wars, but we became the victors. Now we are "the vulnerable." We, as a people, have fallen short. America had fallen asleep, but was awaken to a shocking reality: Our enemy never sleeps. While we were sleeping, the thief came in and burglarized our home allowing our men, women, and children to be destroyed. If we had known, we would have prepared. Matthew 24:21 declares, "For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again." People, this became a reality on 9-11. We as a nation must go back, we must return to our foundational truths. President Bush initiated our victory over this enemy when he called the nation to prayer. I watched ,as did many Americans, the leaders present and past come together, black, white, partisan, bipartisan, Republican, Democrat on that day, we were AMERICA.

My charge to America and her allies is we must not let the enemy win. He has spoken in the worst way possible, but we must answer back. "He came to steal (our liberty, freedom, right to be an American) kill (our belief in God, country, and each other) destroy( our future, integrity, trust, love for humanity). We must not allow this to happen. We have been persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but NOT destroyed. We must not rest until our victims become victorious. War brings out the true nature of a man. We are courageous in battle, wise in our dealings, strategic in our plans. God is our leader and we have been forced to realize that. Our own were used to destroy us, we must use our own to rebuild. New York, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, are at the forefront of our thoughts, and we cannot allow them to slip back into the memories of times gone by. We lost a great deal, but with God's help, we stand to gain a great deal more. We can't all fight with the soldiers, help with the rescue efforts in New York and Washington, but we CAN all PRAY. Not just right now while this tragedy is still a painful part of our daily lives, but we must pray without ceasing. The only weapon to fight this enemy with is not CLASSIFIED. The Russians, Israelis, nor the US can claim it. Our weapon is international, even the lowly man on the street can possess it. People, our weapon is PRAYER. Our leaders, servicemen, are depending on us. Don't let them down. Seek God for a strategy, remember this enemy has no face, nor an address.

"Perhaps the greatest hurdle we will have to overcome in the days ahead will be getting back to the work at hand. How can we with so many unaccounted for? We must embrace the truth that God knows where they are; he took the time to count the strands of hair on their heads, he holds and protects them. At present, we are still weary of flying, and attending large gatherings. The heightened security leaves many of us fearful and more aware of how easy it can be to lose the freedom we've taken for granted. We are concerned about how the US will respond to this tragedy since we are unaware of where the enemy is. God knows. He knew during Joshua's and Gideon's time, and he knows NOW. HE is empathetic to all our anxieties pains, and knows firsthand what sorrow is. He too has been pursued and persecuted. Having endured these persecutions, God knows how to keep them from crippling , even paralyzing our lives." The recipe is simple, yet it takes a tremendous amount of faith and raw courage, not in the government( who is also seeking answers ) but in God.

In closing, consider this reality, Jesus did not lose his life to terrorism, and there were people who hated freedom even then, but he gave his life and became the greatest HERO there will ever be. All the brave men and women who gave their lives are chronicled in his annuls of time and will be remembered eternally. God bless all of them and us as we began to rebuild keeping him as our central theme. Why???? Because "if a sparrow cannot fall without his notice, how can a nation rise without his aid?"

Peace to America- Can She Recover? YES!!! She Can and She Will!!!!!!!!!!!

Travestine J. Wright