Suffering Produces...Hope

I'm sure many of us did a lot of reflecting today.  We all have stories of where we were when we heard about the airplanes flying into the twin towers.  We remember the confusion that followed and soon after, the horror as the towers fell and stories from what has come to be known as "ground zero" started flooding our television, radio stations and email inboxes.
As I thought about that morning ten years ago, a beautiful sunny and crisp morning in Michigan, I recalled listening to the local family/Christian music station.  I was in my second year of graduate school at Michigan State for Clinical Social Work and was on my way to class.  The morning show duo shared the first bit of news.  It was all confusing at first and thought to maybe be some kind of accident. 
My class commenced as usual but about 10-15 minutes into the class cell phones started ringing.  One of my classmates took the call in the hallway and came back into the room with a look of shock on her face.  She walked straight into the middle of class, holding up her phone she said, "Something's happening.  We're being attacked.  They've flown two planes into the World Trade Center."
Others started taking their calls or listening to messages and the professor promptly cancelled the class and recommended we all go home.
The minutes, hours, days that followed are fuzzy.  I believe not only I, but humanity, was experiencing the effects of shock and horror.  First the disbelief and numbness in attempt to grasp what we've just been told, then the sense of deep sadness as the gravity of reality sets in.  After that, anxiety and fear can take hold as normal, everyday activites don't seem so "normal" anymore.
Today we reflect on a national (and really it goes beyond nationality) tragedy and the events of that day ten years ago.  But on a personal level we all have other dates and events and tragedies; stories of "where we were when...".  I myself remember where I was when at just 9 years old I was told that my grandma had "gone to heaven".  This was the first death of a loved one I had ever experienced close up.  I know where I was when at 17 years of age I was told that I had cancer.  On September 11, 2001 I had no idea that in almost exactly two months I would be diagnosed with another disease, diabetes.  I remembered that today too.  All life-altering events.  But not all of that "life-altering" was negative.  I've learned so much about coping, caring for others, sharing burdens, how to see the good in a bad situation.  I believe through all that I've lived in this life I have become stronger and more compassionate.
As you continue to reflect on the tragedy of September 11th and your own personal trials, consider how you may have been changed for the better through your suffering.

"...we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Romans 5:3-4 (NIV)