It’s hard to believe that it’s been 12 years since the
attack on U.S. soil took so many lives and left so many of us staring in
disbelief at our television screens as we watched planes used as weapons and
towers collapse and holes left in the Pentagon and heard the last phone calls
of those heroes who prevented another plane from doing more damage than it did
that day in the field. All those years
ago and I still remember the frantic phone call from my mom to turn on the
television. Alone, I watched the second
plane collide with the second tower and sat in shock as I watched the towers
crumble to the ground.
I wanted to know where all my family was. I wanted to rush to the school and find my
children to hold them and protect them.
I wanted to bring everyone home, thinking I could keep them safe. But there was nothing I could do but let
tears fall down my cheeks. And pray.
The world changed that day.
Innocence was lost. Freedoms were
threatened. Men and women changed the
course of their life and enlisted to protect the country and their corners of
the world. Veterans signed up if they
could while others lamented that they could not. We hugged our children tighter those nights
and called our parents, children and siblings to tell them we love them.
Each year that passes we say we will never forget. But each year the ache lessens, at least for
me, and the memory of that day hides behind a veil that gets thicker as the
years go on. Until I see a video or a
picture. Then, my stomach lurches and I
fight tears because the memory brings me back to a place where I felt out of
control, at a loss, afraid and lonely.
There are only a few days like this one that bring such strong emotions
up out of the depth of my memory and cause me to pause, think, remember and
pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you today to be with the
families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.
In all reality, we are all victims of that attack, so I ask you to cover
all of us with your penetrating, enduring love.
I also ask for your loving kindness upon all those who took risks to
help others, who were the heroes that day.
Help them through their vivid memories.
And Lord, I ask for your guiding hand upon all the leaders who are
making decisions regarding Syria. Keep
us safe during this time of uncertainty.
Amen.