When The Siren Sounds

The outdoor siren began to wail from across the lake. It was this month’s scheduled test for a tornado warning in our area.

I hurried outside and listened closely, waiting for those reassuring words, “this is a test, this is only a test.”

I thought, “what if this were a warning that Jesus was on His way?”

That thought carried me back to another ordinary day, 25 years ago.

Except on that day, ordinary life changed with no warning.

My car was being serviced at a Pensacola dealership when I saw television footage of an airplane flying into one of the World Trade Center towers. I was still watching when a second plane flew into the other tower.

The gravity of the situation shook me.

I checked on my husband and girls and when I got my car back, I rushed to my parent’s house. Urgently, I knocked and when mom opened their door, I blurted out, “We’re under attack!”

Dad joined mom and me as we hurried to turn on the television. Together, we watched the terror of Sept. 11 unfold.

In a matter of minutes, an ordinary Tuesday was no longer ordinary.

For a long time afterward, we lived on high alert. We had been reminded how quickly life can change and how little we could see coming.

It had been an ordinary morning for Michael Lomonaco, the executive chef of Windows on the World in the North Tower.

Before going to work, he stopped at LensCrafters to get a new pair of glasses so that he could see more clearly.

That small detail stands out to me now.

His desire to see more clearly kept him from being in the restaurant when the plane struck.

None of us can see what’s around life’s corner. Small details can change where we are and what happens to us in ways we could never foresee. But God isn’t caught off guard.

And praise God, He hasn’t left us spiritually blind.

Paul prayed that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”

Jesus came. He saves. Jesus is coming again!

We have already been warned.

Matthew 24:44 says, “You must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

The eerie sound of the siren blaring across our lake didn’t tell me anything new. It reminded me of something I already knew, and as I looked up, just in case, to see whether there was a tornado in the sky, I was reminded to look up in another way.

Sometimes, the truth we already know needs to be awakened in us.

Hopefully, we are living like we can see - attentive, spending our ordinary days on things and people that matter, and telling the good news of Jesus while we still have time.

Never forget what happened that September morning.

Never forget the people who were lost.

Never forget the families who have carried those losses all these years.

And never forget that we don’t know when an ordinary day will become our last.

As sisters in Christ, we should never forget what God has promised us.

Jesus is coming again.

The warning has already been sounded.

Now let's sound it for others, too.