It seems to me, in this fractious and argumentative time we live in, that the anniversary of 9/11 is especially important. And poignant.

That morning in September I was just home from a night shift. I was exhausted, crawling into bed after a long night at the hospital, and my mother told me to turn on the TV.

The first tower had just been hit. She made a comment of what a terrible accident that was – I responded “That was no accident”. I had to work that night, so I shut it off, shut out the world, and went to sleep.

The full impact of what happened while I slept hit me full in the face when I woke up and turned the TV on. It seemed like a nightmare. Nothing like this had happened in my lifetime. I never knew there could be such hate.

That night, we only had one couple come in to have a baby – and they were Islamic. It was awkward. They were nervous, and we were sad because this moment of new life would ever be marred by the events of the day. Not for one moment did we wish ill on them or look down on them.

All these years later, hatred has grown and terror is world wide. Radical Islam has become something we are all too familiar with. Fear is something that hovers in the back of our minds when we travel.

As the anniversary of 9/11 comes, my prayer is for peace. We must never, ever forget the evil that caused the deaths of the innocents all those years ago – and still is causing pain and suffering, physically and mentally.

Praying for peace does not mean blindly looking away or ignoring evil as it tries to take root in our country and around the world. The hastily bulldozed compound in New Mexico reminds us that the evil is alive and well.

Protect our country. Protect the world. Open the eyes and minds of those blinded by hate, and help them see the Truth.

Let there be peace on earth…let it begin with us.