Thanks, Deborah, for opening up this difficult discussion. When my 13-year-old daughter saw the rejoicing on the television, her immediate reaction was to question why anyone would celebrate the death of another individual. She and I then spent time in prayer, asking for enlightenment as to how to respond to the situation.

That night, as I went to bed, I wrote the following to a friend of mine: "I hope the remainder of your weekend was enjoyable. Mine was, although the news of Osama bin Laden's death has me shook up a little bit... It's hard to rejoice in the death of anyone, even though I realize the War on Terror could never end while he was still alive. Yet, it will hopefully bring some closure for those still living with issues resulting from 9/11. All in all, very mixed feelings."

You see, I live 90 minutes outside of NYC. My Uncle lives in Times Square, and actually watched from his balcony as the second tower was hit. I have friends and neighbors who were in the City that day. I know people who lost loved ones there, and who survived Ground Zero. That morning is indelibly burned in my memory as I tried for hours to find out whether my family was safe. Simply hearing the words "nine eleven" in succession brings me back to the powerful feelings experienced that day. My then 18-month-old son was home sick with me that morning as we watched the news footage, and had nightmares for the next 2 years about "the bad men flying planes into the buildings."

I'm a follower of Christ. I choose not to hate anyone, even though there may be people whose actions I don't like (or approve of). I have prayed for some resolution to this whole situation for years. Unfortunately, it seems as though there was no way the War on Terror could ever end when Osama Bin Laden was so set upon jihad.

Am I grateful that he's dead? Humanly speaking, yes. Do I wish it had been of natural causes or something less intentional? Yes. Am I hopeful that the War on Terror has turned a corner? Yes. Am I afraid that Bin Laden's death increases our danger? Yes.

Perhaps part of the "silence" you "heard," was people struggling with a mixture of feelings that are hard to process. I don't rejoice in his death. But his death gives me hope that I didn't have previously, hope for healing and for peace. The only thing I posted online about it though was simply to thank my sister, who enlisted as a result of 9/11, and her military friends for their service during this time. In the long run, it's the sacrifices of our military troops, their families, and the victims of terror that I chose to focus on instead.