It's funny. I just looked at the time on the toolbar and it said "9:11". It's been almost 4 years now but the impact that it left is hard to ignore. I think our lives are forever changed. I don't remember, as a child, ever having to think about terrorist threats when travelling. There were no posters in MRT stations telling us to alert the authorities if we saw any suspicious-looking parcel. Heck, there were no MRT stations then (but that really is another story). Bali was just another exotic destination I had yet to put on my agenda. Madrid was our "almost-went" tourist spot that we switched to Switzerland and Paris instead because Singapore Airlines flew there. London was my favourite city in the world and one of the few places I've visited more than once.

But these, and many other places will never be the same again. And people around the world will not be the same. My children will not grow up with the same sense of freedom that I had. They will read of 9/11 in their history books. They will read of Bali. And Madrid. And London. But it will not just be history. They will read about such things in current affairs. They will be witnesses to the tragic unfolding of catastrophic disasters that are born out of the deceitful heart of misguided idealism.

There will come a point where we are no longer appalled by the extent of destruction brought about by senseless acts. But there will never be a point where we will no longer hurt, no longer cry and no longer experience the piercing devastation of intimate loss. And that, perhaps, offers us a glimpse of what we like to call, hope.

"... And we rejoice in the hope of glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." - Romans 5:2-5