CNN reports that police and anti-terror officers found a car full of explosives somewhere near Piccadilly Circus in London. They also report that another car that was towed for parking illegally near Trafalgar Square was also thought to contain bomb components.
This takes me back to the few days I spent in London. It makes me think about how virtually carefree I was traveling then. I was a teenager, and this was pre-9/11 (and pre-a-lot-of-other-things, too). The biggest concern then for me and the other high schoolers I was traveling with was not falling asleep during our tour guide's long narratives and staying away from strange men on the Underground.
London's been hit hard in the past few years. Today's occurrences also remind me of being in India in 2005 and receiving word that someone had attacked London's public transportation system. We worried then about how this would affect our travel back to the U.S. and whether we might end up being targeted by terrorist groups while in Asia simply because we were white.
And of course, it's hard to think about any of this without remembering 9/11. But this time I can look at the situation and be glad that someone stopped it and that innocent people's lives were saved.
Matt and Beth Redman wrote this song following the 2005 attacks in London:
Even though I walk through the valley
Of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
Even when I'm caught in the middle
Of the storms of this life
I won't turn back, I know you are near
I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Oh, no, you never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh, no, you never let go
Every high and every low
Oh, no, you never let go
Lord, you never let go of me
I can see a light that is coming
For the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
There will be an end to this struggles,
But until that day comes
We'll live to know you here on the earth
I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Oh, no, you never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh, no, you never let go
Every high and every low
Oh, no, you never let go
Lord, you never let go of me
Yes, I can see a light that is coming
For the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You
Oh, no, you never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh, no, you never let go
Every high and every low
Oh, no, you never let go
Lord, you never let go of me
"You Never Let Go," Matt and Beth Redman
I like this song because it acknowledges that crap happens. But it also emphasizes that God is there in the good and the bad, even if he is hard to see sometimes.
Kettle and I talked a bit recently about how to deal with tragedy and move on with life. It would be really easy to place walls around our lives, whether in a physical or emotional sense, and wither up in our own little protective shells, never experiencing all the good things life has to offer. But I think that would be missing the point. Sure, bad stuff happens, but I would rather experience a little bit of bad and a lot of good than not experience anything.
My spirit could never be content closed off from the world or from people. I've always wanted to go back to London, and someday I'm sure I will.
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