To the Editor:
Sept. 11 has come and gone, yet the message "lest we forget" continues to reverberate in our hearts and minds.  Unfortunately, we have already forgotten.
We have forgotten our creator.  In the United States, a nation built on godly principles, we have systematically eliminated the Lord from our schools, our homes and our daily lives.
Shortly after the attacks, church attendance soared.  Once people began to feel safe and secure, complacency returned.  Over and over, people asked, "Why did God let this happen?" and "Where were we?"  Were we humble before our creator in prayer?  Did we open our Bible, ready to hear what God has already said in his word?  Where were you on Sunday?  In the Lord's house, keeping your focus on Him throughout the day; or were you home savoring that second cup of coffee, reading the paper, planning a trip to the shopping mall?
We have conveniently for-gotten our marriage vows, ignoring how our creator intended us to live.  "Significant other" has become as commonplace as husband and wife -- except of course in your Bible.  We "forsake all others," unless something better comes along or things don't go our way.
We are no longer willing to follow God's plan for marriage and family.  We want to make up our own rules.  Then, we have the gall to call it "political correctness" while we destroy the very framework of the family, including our children.
We give little or no thought to the wonderful gift of children.  We have been given an awesome responsibility to train and raise our children, not by the state, but by the God who has created us!  We are unwilling to sacrifice our "wants" for the needs of the small baby God has entrust-ed to our care.
We ignore that child and the genuine need that child has to be loved, comforted, cared for and treasured by his parents.  We desire children.
We think they are cute, until we have to give up the precious commodity of time.  We bask in their love, but are murdering them (literally) in, the name of convenience.
Many things changed after Sept. 11 - some for such a short time that the change was hardly noticed.  People spoke eloquently of "living life to the fullest" because we don't know what tomorrow may bring.
That is true, but how much worse is it to ignore the one who gave us life in the first place?  We need to honor our commitment to our spouses and remember that children are not to be tossed aside, but are a worthy investment of our time, our energy and our love.
We boldly show our disregard for the God who has blessed us so abundantly, and the direction of His word which tells us to live for Him (not for the "moment").
Our utter contempt for the family is exhibited by the ease with which we engage in sex outside of the marriage covenant.  Then, when a life is created, we deem it "inconvenient" and dispose of it (full term or not) as yesterday's trash.
We will never forget the events of Sept. 11.  However, until we remember our creator, and allow him to change us from within, we are as hopelessly lost as those we seek to remember.
JOYCE A. MEYERS
Bridgeton 10/03/02