"Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?" ~ Alan Jackson
I would be horribly remiss to not pause for a moment and pay tribute to the significance of this date in history, for on this particular date, my life and the lives of every American changed. We lost a bit of our "innocence" I believe. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news of the terrorist attacks. I was teaching a high school computer class in a classroom that had no television reception, so I really had no idea what had occurred until class ended and my co-workers greeted me with the news: "Two planes have just hit the twin towers in New York City!" I, like so many others, couldn't even grasp the enormity of the situation.........what????
Of course, I had to "carry on" for the sake of my students when all I wanted to do was gather my family close to me and not let go. Our oldest son had just started his first post-college job; our daughter had just begun her freshman year of college; and our twin sons had just begun their junior year in high school. My boys were at least in the area (and living with us), but our only girl was almost 200 miles away! As soon as possible, I contacted each of them to make sure they were okay, but was frantic that we couldn't all be together. Our daughter called her dad and asked, "Daddy, are we going to war?" (and like a good dad, he reassured her that everything would be okay). Later, however, she wanted to hop in the car in the middle of the night and drive home, and as hard as it was to say it, we had to tell her to stay put--that she was probably safer where she was than driving home in the middle of the night. Ah, what a scary time!!!!
And here we are..........nine years later. Our lives have changed enormously, though we still remember. We will never forget. As Alan Jackson's song also says,
"but I know Jesus and I talk to God
and I remember this from when I was young
Faith, Hope and Love are some good things He gave us
and the greatest is Love."
Nine years later.........Taylor, our oldest, is married to his "true companion" and they are raising our first grandchild; Blair, our daughter, is following her dreams and her heart in New York City--and surprisingly, we sleep well at night; Jeff, one of our twins, has completed college and is living on his own and enjoying the life he is making for himself; and Jon, our other twin, is alive (a blessing we remember every day) and continuing on the road set before him over five years ago. In some ways, I admit, the journey that began for this family on March 12, 2005, has taken a stronger hold in our personal lives than the one that began for our nation on September 11, 2001. We still reflect on our own "Where were you?" on that fateful Saturday in our lives, and we live with the constant reminder of God's faithfulness and love in seeing Jon continue to seek God's will in his life. We KNOW we are blessed.
I would be horribly remiss to not pause for a moment and pay tribute to the significance of this date in history, for on this particular date, my life and the lives of every American changed. We lost a bit of our "innocence" I believe. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news of the terrorist attacks. I was teaching a high school computer class in a classroom that had no television reception, so I really had no idea what had occurred until class ended and my co-workers greeted me with the news: "Two planes have just hit the twin towers in New York City!" I, like so many others, couldn't even grasp the enormity of the situation.........what????
Of course, I had to "carry on" for the sake of my students when all I wanted to do was gather my family close to me and not let go. Our oldest son had just started his first post-college job; our daughter had just begun her freshman year of college; and our twin sons had just begun their junior year in high school. My boys were at least in the area (and living with us), but our only girl was almost 200 miles away! As soon as possible, I contacted each of them to make sure they were okay, but was frantic that we couldn't all be together. Our daughter called her dad and asked, "Daddy, are we going to war?" (and like a good dad, he reassured her that everything would be okay). Later, however, she wanted to hop in the car in the middle of the night and drive home, and as hard as it was to say it, we had to tell her to stay put--that she was probably safer where she was than driving home in the middle of the night. Ah, what a scary time!!!!
And here we are..........nine years later. Our lives have changed enormously, though we still remember. We will never forget. As Alan Jackson's song also says,
"but I know Jesus and I talk to God
and I remember this from when I was young
Faith, Hope and Love are some good things He gave us
and the greatest is Love."
Nine years later.........Taylor, our oldest, is married to his "true companion" and they are raising our first grandchild; Blair, our daughter, is following her dreams and her heart in New York City--and surprisingly, we sleep well at night; Jeff, one of our twins, has completed college and is living on his own and enjoying the life he is making for himself; and Jon, our other twin, is alive (a blessing we remember every day) and continuing on the road set before him over five years ago. In some ways, I admit, the journey that began for this family on March 12, 2005, has taken a stronger hold in our personal lives than the one that began for our nation on September 11, 2001. We still reflect on our own "Where were you?" on that fateful Saturday in our lives, and we live with the constant reminder of God's faithfulness and love in seeing Jon continue to seek God's will in his life. We KNOW we are blessed.
We recognize that the world in which we live has changed. We understand through our faith that what man intended for evil on 9/11, God has used for good. Yes, there is still evil in the world; yes, there are still families suffering from the tremendous losses of that horrific September day (and for those families, I'm sure we all share a piece of their heartache); and yes, there is a new sense of awareness that what happened then could happen again. BUT, I pray that for each of us, we have learned that no matter where our life's journey has taken us since that horrible day in September, 2001, we are stronger than we ever thought possible. We are called to encourage each other and to support each other at all times. My family has travelled a road that at times felt very lonely, but at no time were we alone. Even in our darkest hours, we never doubted that the God we serve would provide us with just what we needed WHEN we needed it. We firmly believe that because of Him, we have been surrounded by family and friends (and even strangers) who love us but who, more importantly, love the Lord and seek daily to do His will. Should another 9/11/01 threaten this nation, or another 3/12/05 threaten this family, we will be secure in knowing that our Lord will see us through whatever this life brings.
"But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." ~ Joshua 24:15
