Friday, September 11, 2009

Where Were You?

It's the eighth anniversary of 9.11 -those numbers etched in the mind of every American forever. Today, I'm remembering specifics, but actually there aren't too many days that go by that something doesn't stir me to remember...the sight of a soldier at the airport, a family friend in the Middle East, the site of an American flag, the news - all remind me of how much America has changed because of 9.11.

Where were you?

I was at my home in Beaumont (Fannett), Texas. I was on week two of homeschooling four, 9th grade boys. School had just begun, when Bruce ran in the house. He had been down the road getting our car inspected and had heard on the radio that the first tower had been struck. Immediately, the boys and I headed to the living room and the rest of the school day was spent in front of the TV. We were glued. Sometimes I watched in horror, other times in fear, and other times in sorrow. As the days went by, I remember becoming more and more proud to be an American.

That next day, for the first time I can ever remember, our high school allowed students who could drive to have an excused absence if they wanted to come to our church to pray with us. We had a community prayer meeting that night. I had never seen a community come together like that before....and since then only 2 times...both after hurricanes.

I know that there are mixed feelings about the war, how long we've been there and the costs...both in money and lives, but I just want to say that I have NEVER seen a country handle things with such grace when something so tragic happened. Man helping fellow man, Stranger helping stranger, risking life and limb for another, common man became a hero that day. Firefighters became soldiers and Policemen became counselors. It was a day when an American citizen stepped up and became enlisted- officially or not.

I'm proud of that kind of humanity. No matter how you feel about the war....we should never forget the kind of people we saw on 9.11.

Where were you on 9.11?

5 comments:

Keelie said...

I was in college and I remember sitting through an entire Art History class thining our country was under attack. As soon as that class was over I drove the 30 miunte commute to my house. I remember thinking how strange it was that something so horrible could be happening on such a beautiful day. I also watch the news all day and was touched by the beautiful display of humanity. You have to wonder--while we focus so many times on the tragedy--how many ways has God used these events to further His kingdom? Ways we will never know..

Laurie said...

I love your post. On 9/11 I was at school teaching high school and our chair got me and the other foreign language teachers out of class to tell us what happened in the hall. I will never forget that day and my efforts to try to make my students understand the great loss. Thanks! Blessings, Laurie

Heart2Heart said...

I remember I was getting ready to leave for work and watched in horror what was happening in my TV. Since I worked for one of the largest communications companies at that time, I was still required to be at work. We had peoples calls swarming our call center wanting to know if we could locate their cell phones in New York that day.

Sad as it was it was the most difficult day talking with people so desperate to know if their family member was ok and not to be able to tell them anything.

Let us once again pray for this great nation and for those everywhere today that we can become a blessed nation once more!

Love and Hugs ~ Kat

Kathy said...

Danny and I had not begun our day yet until his Mom called to see if we had been watching the news. Needless to say we then did. Because of his profession as a pilot we received many thoughtful calls that day to make sure he was home and okay.

F. Deaton said...

OK, I have CHILLS all over reading this. I was at home cleaning and didn't have any tv on and both my Mom and my mil called to see if I was ok. They had to tell me to turn on the tv and much like you, was glued to it the rest of the day if not week. I was barely pregnant with Lizzie when all that happened. I couldn't believe what was taking place in our country and just grabbed Sam and Noah and started praying.