Anyone with a memory, can tell you where they were on September 11, 2001. It think it's safe to say that it is a day we all will never forget.
I was at work. I had worked for this company for 1 1/2 yrs and been married for 9 months. Our department was in transition from one location in the building to another, so they had 6 of us crammed into a conference room. What was supposed to last a couple of weeks ended up being several months... but that's another story.
Anyway, someone in our group had a call letting her know that one of the World Trade Center buildings had been hit by an airplane. I shrugged it off, because I really didn't believe her... Then she got a call that another plane had hit the other building.
My company only had 1 tv in the building and it was used for "business recovery purposes" only. Well, I found that conference room with the tv and a handful of people had already made their way there. I remember wondering how the people on the top floors (above the hit site) were going to make it out. A helicopter couldn't land because the extra weight might collapse the building.
Reporters were telling viewers that there were people jumping out of the windows of the buildings. Papers were flying everywhere. Thick, black smoke poured out.
Then it happened. A tower fell. It was unbelievable. I watched as hundreds of trapped people were killed. Then the second tower fell. More smoke. More papers and debris flew everywhere. Terrified faces on tv in Manhattan.
More reports of 2 more planes crashing. One at the Pentagon and one in PA. What was going on? In a daze, I go back to my desk in the conference room. That was the first time I ever remember hearing of the terrorist group and their leader.
I called my parents. Not sure why, because I knew they were ok. I just needed to hear from them. For the next several weeks, our church was filled each Sunday. Everyone was looking for comfort, reassurance, something. Slowly, that faded and attendance was back to "normal."
I remember on the 1 yr anniversary, there was a tv special on the women who where pregnant at the time of the attacks and their spouse was killed. They had their babies, but no Daddy to share them with. I can't imagine facing what is supposed to be the happiest time in my life, knowing that my child will never know his/her Daddy.
Stories surfaced of people who were supposed to be at the towers that day, but were not. People who were supposed to be at the Pentagon that day, but were not. People who should have been on those planes, but were not. Those who should not have been at those places, but were. Those who experienced the tragedy first hand and lived to tell about it. The guilt of the survivors - why did they survive and so many did not? The sicknesses incurred by those who worked at the sites clearing the debris.
Where are we now? As a nation and individually, what have we learned? What have we changed as a result of these horrible events? I'm not referring to the security at airports or background checks on people. I'm referring to REAL changes. This should have been a wake up call to turn our lives around. Live for Jesus. Trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Our country was founded on these beliefs and we have tossed it aside in the name of being "tolerant" and "politically correct."
Jesus was neither. He was loving, but hated sin. He spoke the truth, even when it offended others. He pointed out the sins of others and told them to repent and turn from their evil ways. The events of 9/11/2001 should have prompted this nation to repent and turn from our evil ways.
Today, I still work for the same company. I am still married to the same man. I have a cold today and feel like crap, but I am alive. I have a 5-year-old who is beginning to learn all of the evils this world has to hold. But he reminds me that "God doesn't make mistakes." So true, my son.
