May We Never Forget
Remembering those whose lives were taken 13 years ago this somber day. In my little neck of the woods, the skies are gray and drizzling. It is appropriate.
On September 11, 2001, I was pumping gas at Dodd’s Service Station when Mr. Dodd himself asked me if I had heard about the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. I had not so I walked into his office where the regulars were gathered around the television. In my naivete I wondered how a pilot could have made such a horrible error when the second plane hit in front of our eyes and the realization of intention vs. accident began to sink in. The ‘terrorist’ word was uttered and all innocence with it’s proclamation. We were a nation under attack.
I broke the bewildered fellowship and drove to Chattanooga with lump in throat and legs shaking while listening to frantic newscasters speculate on what was happening and if it was over and where these people may strike next. I arrived at Sam’s Club, stepped out of the car and stood stunned and motionless with many others as the deafening engines of airplanes being grounded from every conceivable direction to the local airport felt like the end of the world. I fully expected a Boeing to land right on top of us and had that been the case, I don’t think I could have moved from that spot such was the shock. That pause – that moment when time stopped and perfect strangers turned eyes to the sky and joined in fear and grief and sobs – remains one of the most surreal moments of my life.
For posterity’s sake….do you remember where you were that dreadful day? Feel free to share it here but more importantly, don’t ever let die those details nor fail to share them with your children. Our freedoms are a rare gift and will become rarer still if we fail to recount the cost. Praying today those who lost loved ones feel the comfort of a God and nation who will never forget. Praying God will thwart the evil ones who sow this madness, that He would shine on them and turn them from their wickedness. And perhaps most of all, I pray He comes quickly and crushes the True Enemy under His beautiful feet.
Maranatha!
May We Never Forget http://t.co/t6WWaA0iU9
I was 17, on my way to my high school from my morning college classes I was taking, when the words “terrorist attack” flooded over the radio air waves and it was so surreal. As I drove, which I barely remember driving, car after car were stopped on the side of the road, people getting out and looking up to the sky, some on their knees in grief/prayer. When I arrived at my school I ran inside and the entire school was gathered around many different TV’s and radio’s, the silence that was in those rooms when I walked in was terrifying, i walked over to the TV just in time to see the second plane hit. Lots of people were in tears, even the men in class. Looking back I know that deep down we were all terrified and thinking, “what’s next? Where’s the next plane going to hit?” and everytime we’d hear a plane going overhead I know my heart starting beating fast and I was frozen with fear as was everyone else’s, i could see it in their eyes. That day that “we will never forget” was truly the only day in America’s history that anyone in America could look another person in the eyes and without saying a word knew what the other was thinking, knew the fear inside each one because you could see it.
Ziad
The Preacher’s Wife
I was on my way out the door to a women’s Bible study on an Army post. My oldest son told me he had heard on the TV about a plane (1st one) that hit the WTC. Since the news sounded like something I needed to keep from little ears, I told him to turn it off and get into the car. We loaded the three younger children and went on post. It was hours before we could leave, since the post was on lock down in less than an hour. I was helping in the homeschool room that first hour, so I had news of the changing reports as moms trickled into the classroom. Anyone behind me in line to get on post was stopped and checked, so many parents were late that day. Others who lived on post were late simply because they had chosen to listen for more reports.
They had waited long enough to realize that this was an issue that would effect their husbands, so they stayed longer to listen, before coming to the post chapel for our study.
One mom walked into the room with her child and whispered, “Have you heard the news?” I only nodded.
I remember her next words; even her tone brought me shivers.
“This day will change every day for the rest of our lives.”
She was right.