When Life Feels Like Sandpaper

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” — Psalm 147:3

This morning, I sat down for my quiet time and reached for my Bible, my devotional book, and my journal, the things I usually gather when I want to slow down and spend some time with the Lord.

As I picked them up, something fell out.

A piece of sandpaper.

I looked at it and thought, Where in the world did that come from? I couldn’t remember putting it there, and I couldn’t think of any reason it should have been tucked between the things I use during my quiet time.

Then I looked at the date.

September 11.

And somehow, that little piece of sandpaper made me stop and think.

Twenty-five years ago today, our nation experienced something we will never forget. September 11, 2001, began like any other Tuesday for thousands of people. They got up, went to work, kissed their families goodbye, made plans for the day, and expected to come home that evening.

But they didn’t know that before the day was over, their lives, and the lives of so many others, would be changed forever.

That’s what makes September 11 so difficult to remember. It reminds us how quickly life can change. One moment can alter everything we thought we knew about tomorrow.

Maybe that’s why the sandpaper caught my attention.

Sandpaper is rough and abrasive, but it has a purpose. It is used to smooth rough edges, remove imperfections, and prepare something for what comes next. Life can sometimes feel the same way. There are seasons when circumstances leave us worn and tender, grief, disappointment, loss, uncertainty, or the pain of watching someone we love struggle. None of us gets through this life without encountering things we would never have chosen, but perhaps our difficult seasons can become places where God deepens our faith, softens our hearts, increases our compassion, and draws us closer to Him. That doesn’t make the painful things good, nor does it mean we have to understand them. It means we can trust that God is still at work, even when we cannot see what He is doing.

Scripture reminds us:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18

God doesn’t promise that we will never hurt. He doesn’t promise that tragedy won’t happen or that we will always understand His ways.

He promises His presence.

I think about that when I remember September 11. God was there in the middle of unimaginable fear and loss. He was there with the people who were trapped, with the families waiting for loved ones who would never come home, and with the firefighters, police officers, first responders, and ordinary people who ran toward danger to help others.

And God is still there.

He is with us in the memories we carry and in the grief that sometimes resurfaces years later. He is with us when our own lives take an unexpected turn and we don’t understand what He is doing.

September 11 also reminds me not to take ordinary days for granted. The people who left home that morning didn’t know it would be their last goodbye. We don’t know which ordinary moments will one day become precious memories.

So perhaps today is a good day to call someone we love. To forgive. To say I love you. To slow down long enough to recognize the blessings we sometimes overlook because they have become familiar.

We aren’t promised tomorrow.

But we have today.

And we have a God who promises never to leave us.

That piece of sandpaper may have ended up between the pages of my Bible completely by accident. I’ll probably never know how it got there. But this morning, God used something ordinary to remind me of something eternal:

Life can change in an instant, but God remains faithful through it all.

He was faithful on September 11, 2001. He is faithful today. And He will be faithful in whatever tomorrow brings.

Father, today we pause to remember.

We remember September 11, 2001, and the lives that were suddenly and tragically taken. We remember the families who lost husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and friends. We remember those who went to work that morning expecting to come home and never did.

We remember the heroes who ran toward danger while others were running away. We remember the courage, sacrifice, compassion, and selflessness that emerged from one of our nation’s darkest days.

Lord, be near to those who still carry the wounds of that day. Comfort those whose hearts still ache and those who have spent twenty-five years learning how to live with an empty place where someone they loved should be.

And Lord, I pray for those of us walking through our own difficult seasons. When our hearts are weary and we don’t understand what You are doing, remind us that You are near. Give us the faith to trust You even when we don’t have answers.

Use our struggles to make us more like You. Deepen our faith, soften our hearts, and teach us to love more freely. Help us never take an ordinary day for granted. Help us love our families well, forgive quickly, speak kindly, and cherish the people You have placed in our lives.

Remind us that the moments we consider ordinary today may someday be the memories we treasure most.

Thank You for being our refuge when the world feels uncertain, our comfort when our hearts are broken, and our strength when we don’t think we can take another step.

We remember those we lost. We honor those who sacrificed. We pray for those who still grieve.

And today, we place our lives, our families, our nation, and our future into Your hands.

Because even when life feels like sandpaper, You are still God, and You are still holding us.

In the precious name of Jesus,

Amen.