A Day That Started Out Like Any Other Day.... A Day That Changed The World

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On September 11, 2001, I was in my truck at my friend Amy's house when a local radio personality came on stating that a plane just flew into the World Trade Center in New York City. I was dropping off my son that day before I headed off to work. He was homeschooling at the time and stayed at their house while I was at work to do his studies.

Even the other people on the radio thought he was kidding - it was just so unthinkable. But, then as time passed and the reports confirmed... It became clear that the unthinkable was indeed true. I made a phone call to my dad as I drove to the school where I worked. At that time I worked a few miles from Alliance Airport and the realization that D/FW and the Fort Worth Joint Air Base were within a 30 mile radius was not lost on me. He was an air traffic controller in those days and I felt that if anything serious had happened he would know.

He was sleeping. He awoke and I told him three times that planes were flying into the World Trade Towers... He finally awakened enough to grasp what I was saying and asked, "In Dallas?"

"No, Daddy. In New York City." I paused as I thought about the people in those buildings. "Turn on the news, Daddy. Tell me what is going on." Panic was setting in, even though the attacks were many miles away from the place I called home. My father turned on the news and watched them replay footage of the second plane flying into Tower 2.

"Sugar, what is going on?" I could hear the confusion - the panic in his voice. "We are at war."

We talked a few more minutes as the tears stung my eyes. Then he finally said, "Let me call you back I need to call in at work."

By the time I got to work, my supervisor had the news going on a local Christian radio station and a small television in her office. We went about our duties in the school kitchen listening and keeping our eyes on the television and our ears to the news as the third and fourth planes crashed. I had my children picked up early from school and hurried with the after lunch chores in the kitchen before rushing to pick up my children and get home.

One of the most staggering moments for me that day was standing in Donna's office and watching as first one tower and then the other fell. I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me and kept repeating through the sobs and streaming tears, "Oh God, please. What about all those people."

I watched the news coverage 24/7 it seemed like. I remember as they carried not just one but several people still alive out of the wreckage at Ground Zero days after the attack. I remember the haunting pictures of ashen covered people emerging from lower manhattan and the images of people walking and walking for miles on end to get out of New York City. Each day as the news replayed the images of what happened my heart not only stopped, it ached. I hurt for all the people who suffered the death of their loved ones - sons, fathers, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. So many died that day - and in one fell swoop America and its people were no long safe.

The stories of heroism and the United Flight 93 passengers and crew who heroically gave their lives to prevent even more devastating and loss of life. They gripped my soul, and made me proud to be an American. Fear on every front, be we were still alive. I heard the cry out to God why He had allowed this to happen and Ann Graham Lotz's poignant words about how America was about the business of asking God to but out of our daily business and lives, but wondering why He didn't show up in crisis. It landed on me with fresh awareness that the shield of faith had been lowered in America because of the apostasy in our land. I prayed ardently and often for this nation and its leaders, for President Bush and the decisions he made. I prayed for the families and the funerals and thanked God that my family was safe.

The images of those days of September seven years ago will be etched in my memory until I die, but even more so the memories of those who stood to serve, to sacrifice and to fight for our freedom will be remembered in my prayers and my heart forever. God did not promise us a life free of tragedy, sorrow or pain... Yet, He promised to be the God who would see us through every dark moment to the place of glorious light. Psalms tells us that God trains our hands for battle and our fingers for war and Jesus Himself stated there would be wars and rumors of wars until He comes again. Ours is not always to know the why, the how or the when... But to trust with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength the WHO that promises to be faithful to us to the end. Pray, my friends, as this day wains on that we will not forget the lessons and the losses of September 11, 2001 and that we will never again be the country who takes our freedom and our responsibility to one another and God for granted again.

May God bless our troops who put their lives on the line, May He bless the families who continue to mourn and grieve and May He bless the coming elections and the legacy of George W. Bush - A man willing to stand against those who sought to destroy and restore a sense of safety and hope to America once again.