Never Forget

With the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 about a week away, channels are starting to show the usual documentaries about that day. I was watching one yesterday and it made me remember MY 9/11...Thought I'd share that day here but also another story I heard.

I was going in late to work and was sitting at home flipping through channels when I saw coverage on GMA of the first plane that hit. I thought to myself,"I better watch because something else may happen". A few minutes later the second plane hit and I unraveled. I called Mark and then saw a plane hit the Pentagon. I was in terrified awe...I got myself together and went to work. As I was walking from the Taj Mahal parking lot to the Cov, I remember passing people and wondering, "Do they know what's going on? Should I tell them?" By the time I got inside, the towers had fallen, kids and staff were watching quietly, and my boss was trying to figure out whether or not we should cancel a meeting. Later in the day I took a kid to a doctor's appointment and as we were driving "Proud to Be an American" came on the radio. We sang and cried together.

I didn't know anyone personally who died that day but I do know it affected our program dramatically since donations started going to fire departments, Red Cross, victims families, etc. I was able to get to a place faith-wise where I wasn't fearful of what may come next but rather it hurt my soul that so many others were affected more tragically than I. Years later I was with a co-worker and we were discussing families and I asked about her husband...she replied, "He died in 9/11" and didn't say anything else. Was he in the towers? Was he on one of the planes? Was he crushed by debris? Did he jump? To this day my heart hurts for anyone who had a closer connection to the loss of friends, families, co-workers, jobs...

Second story...In church one of our members was sharing a story about her father who worked in one of the towers. They used to call him "Preach" because he was so outspoken about his faith. Apparently he was on a floor above where one of the planes crashed and there was no way for him and his co-workers to get out. A colleague had called a family member to report this and had said that "Preach" had gotten up on a table and shouted to all, "I'm going to heaven! Who's coming with me?" What faith! I'm in tears as I type this just thinking about what I would do in that situation...and I would hope HOPE that I could take such a final stand.

It may seem morose that I'm sharing all this but I believe that when we see the "Never forget"s related to 9/11 it makes sense. I never want to become immune to the tragedies of others, I never don't want to feel someone elses pain. Remembering that day, hearing the stories, watching the footage humbles me but also renews my faith that God was in control that day and every day...and if He would allow something of that magnitude to enter my life in a more direct way, I trust that He would pour out the strength to be as confident and courageous as Preach was.