Where were you when...?

In our lifetimes we remember certain events to such a degree that we remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard or experienced that event. Some of these events are wonderful milestones we are glad to commemorate - graduations, wedding day, a birth of a child, etc. More often than not, when we ask the question, "Where were you when...?", we follow it with an event of such terrible significance it is a world changing and life changing event.

For me, at age 39, I have experienced some of each. Let's go in chronological order, shall we?

Where was I when the hostages were taken in Iran? The first event of historical significance, I can remember in my lifetime, was the Iran Hostage Crisis that began in 1979. On November 4, 1979 Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran. It was 11 days short of my eighth birthday. I remember the panic and fear in the eyes of adults, but I didn't know what it really meant. I also remember tying a length of yellow yarn around a tree in our yard. Later, 444 days later, when the hostages were released as President Ronald Reagan took office, I moved that yellow yarn ribbon to my bedpost where it remained until I was in high school.

Where was I when Mount St. Helens last erupted? On May 18, 1980 I was a third grader at church (it was a Sunday morning) living in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I remember running my finger across Dad's car and seeing the ash left by the eruption.

Where was I when President Ronald Reagan was shot? As a fourth grader (still in Ft. Wayne) I did not grasp the significance of what could have happened on that day on March 30, 1981, when John Hinkley, Jr. tried to assassinate our president. I do remember the TV coverage and seeing a smiling Reagan waving from a hospital window.

Where was I when the first space shuttle, Columbia, was launched? In April 12, 1981 I was a fourth grader living in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. We watched on TV. The following school year (now in Pittsburg, KS) my school yearbook had a picture of the launch as the cover.

Where was I when the space shuttle Challenger exploded? During my normal rounds picking up attendance slips as a student helper for the office at the Pittsburg Middle School, on January 28, 1986 I stopped by Mrs. Turnbull's English class and they were watching the launch. I came in to watch with them. I remember silence.

Where was I when the storm hit the desert? On February 24, 2001, while the U.S. military was carrying out Operation Desert Storm, I was on my knees praying in a chapel on the campus of Oklahoma Christian University.

Where was I when she said yes? In April of 1992, I went to spend a few days at my girlfriend's parent's home. I had a very uncomfortable conversation with her dad, who I'm sure enjoyed making me very nervous. Then I went into their spare bedroom, got on one knee in front of Lori and asked her to marry me. She said yes. Sorry, Hon, I can't remember the exact date. I do remember the date we were married a few months later, August 15, 1992.

Where was I when the OJ Simpson car chase was on TV? Who cares?

Where was I when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed in OKC? In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at 9:02 on April 19, 1995, while the most horrific attack of terrorism on American soil up to that date was beginning, I was on an exam table in the radiology department of Mt. Carmel Medical Center in Pittsburg, KS, receiving a lower GI. I visited the memorial in OKC with my family last year. It was a very moving experience for me.

Where was I when I found out I was going to be a father? It was a Friday evening, the date I do not recall. I was cleaning my grandfather's Remington Model 10 shotgun in preparation for rabbit hunting the next morning with Brian McGuire. Lori came in and sat by me on the couch and said I needed a snack. She handed me a fortune cookie, which I took and opened. The fortune read, "By this time next year, you will be a father." I was dumbfounded. The only words I remember speaking the rest of that night was, "It's a girl." I was right, as some months later Ruth Erin Lalli was born, July 6, 1996.

Where was I when I became the father of my son? St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa Oklahoma, September 16, 2000, six and one-half weeks before the due date, I was standing next to the doctor with the snips in hand to cut the cord. Instead, I was given the scariest moment of my life as the doctor told me I couldn't do it and had to back away, NOW. The baby was blue and had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck very tightly - not crying, not breathing. The doctor called for other professionals and they worked quickly in slow motion before my eyes. Eleven days later, after many cords and IVs and a chest tube, Nathan Alexander Lalli was released from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to our home in Tulsa.

Where was I when the world stopped turning? One week in September, I was attending a training seminar for work. I don't remember what the training was. This particular day I had stopped by Burger King on the way to the training, as I was going to eat breakfast in the break room before classes started. I was eating my Croissan'wich and watching a news channel on the TV in the break room. Some idiot had accidentally crashed his private little plane into one of the buildings in New York. Then very shortly after that first erroneous report, the truth began to unfold before wide eyes, gaping mouths, and disbelieving silence. It was September 11, 2001.

Where was I when? Much happened in the almost ten years following that day. But for now let's fast-forward.

Where was I when the U.S. announced they had killed Osama Bin Laden? I was in La Palma, El Salvador watching City Slickers with my family last night. It was the first time my kids had seen it. Lori had her laptop on and started getting Facebook reports that our president was going to be breaking in to TV with an important matter of national security. After the movie we hooked up the cable and turned on the news. Osama Bin Laden was dead and his body was in U.S. custody.

Where were you when...? This question can be valuable to ask ourselves. Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

In Exodus chapter 13, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is established to commemorate the freedom from slavery of the Israelites. Throughout the Books of Law, memorials are established. Pillars of twelve stones are setup so that when children see them, their parents will remind them of the salvation coming from the Lord (Joshua 4). Altars are built to God on places where God revealed Himself or His power. God wants us to remember the times in our lives when He reveals to us His power, His plan, His love.

Where were you when Jesus Christ was nailed on a cross? Of course you weren't born yet. But where were you when you first understood that that sacrifice was for YOU and the love and grace of the One and Only Almighty God is for you? Where were you when you understood that this sacrifice was to reconcile you, a child, to God, The Father?

Where were you when God allowed something to happen in your life you just couldn't understand? Maybe you thought to yourself, "Does He really love me at all?" Where were you when you realized that that event in your life prepared you in a great way to face something else in your life or help someone else who lacked the faith to handle it alone?

Where were you when your loved one died or suffered from cancer, stroke, or Alzheimer's? Where were you when you held the hand of a friend as they faced the same trial and you could say to them truthfully, "I know how you feel, and you can get through this."

Where were you when you lost your job, when all your plans came crashing down around you? Where were you when because you had no job you were available for God to send you to a new place so that His plan could be completed in you or through you in someone else? Where were you when God replaced that job with a job more wonderful than you could have thought possible? 

Where were you when you first experienced the joy of salvation in the eyes of a friend or family member with whom you had shared the Gospel as they came up out of the water of baptism? Where were you when God prepared you to be able to share that Gospel with them?

Where were you when you were frustrated at distractions and inconveniences that made you leave late and not travel as quickly as you planned? Where were you when you drove gawking at the debris covered highway from the tornado that passed through at the time you had planned to be driving through?

Each of those last six paragraphs happened in my life. These are real examples.

Where were you when...? This is a good question to ask others and a good question to ask ourselves. However, it is not a question reserved for human events that impact politics, economics, and daily life. It should also be asked for events that impact your walk with God, your family, and your eternal life. God wants us to remember. Remember the times when He quietly whispers, "I know you can't see it, but this is best for you. I know you don't see it now, but through this, My plan for you and others will be completed." Remember the times He thunderously exclaims, "No this one is mine, and Satan, you can't have him!" Remember the times He protects, gives peace, is faithful, shows mercy, showers grace, and is love.

Never stop asking each other and yourself, "Where were you when...?"

But don't ever be afraid to also ask, "Where are you now?"