I Remember 9.11

9/11

Never Forget – I remember this day. I was 36 years old, Bob was 40, Ashley was 13, and Kory turned 12 the month before. 

When the attacks first happened, I was clueless. It wasn’t until I went into work at the public school where we lived at the time did I hear that terrorists had attacked our Nation. I stood in disbelief in what I was hearing; this type of thing doesn’t happen to America, I thought to myself. Indeed someone is a little dramatic. But sadly enough, I learned it was true. 

One of my jobs as support staff was to go to each building office to pick up and deliver internal office mail. I was shocked to see and hear that the classrooms with televisions had live news reports. Even back then, I felt that we [as a society] was too obsessed with watching the news reports as our source of life.

I was broken-hearted to hear the loud ‘bangs’ and glass shattering – knowing it was men and women jumping from the skyscrapers and hitting the cars below. I cried for days, and couldn’t even turn on the television.

Churches came together with leaders, and we had corporate prayer times for weeks that followed. People were compassionate toward one another. And grace was extended to those who seem preoccupied with heavy hearts.

Little did I know in 2001, my oldest, Lisa, was going to school there in New York. And if you know my story, Lisa and I were united together back in 2008. It was a few years later that I learned that Lisa was there on 9-11-2001.

We were sitting outside in the back yard, talking and enjoying the beautiful sunny day. Suddenly Lisa shuddered as we heard an airplane was descending to land.

Hearing a plane descend wasn’t anything out of the normal. When asking Lisa if she was okay, she shared a small part of that day.

It was chaos, people running everywhere. Mind you, Lisa would have just turned 20 years old. All I wanted to do was run to the subway.  But before entering the underground, I was met by a man. He would not let me pass him even though I explained to him that I “had” to. Unexpectedly this man picked me up and ran [so fast] out of the area and tucked me in a storefront far away from where we were. As soon as he put me down, I went to turn toward him to thank him, but he was gone.

After she told me that, I instantly had goosebumps [god bumps], and this was dropped in my heart, “Even though you were in denial of what happened to you years ago. Every time you prayed protection over your children, that included Lisa.”

Still today, this makes me tear up. And it reinforces my faith that GOD HEARS MY PRAYERS! GOD HEARS OUR PRAYERS.

My heart goes out to all those individuals who were there in New York, the Pentagon, and on that plane that crashed in PA on that day. As well for those who lost loved ones, and for the rest of us, that remember. 

I finish this with a short prayer.

Papa God, thank you that you hear our prayers. Thank you that you are a loving God, who only wants to see us walk out the beautiful plans you created us for.

We ask Father God to heal the United States of American. Heal the emotional pain that came from that day and the emotional pain [and fear] that is widespread today.  Encounter each person in a personal way, Lord God. Give each of us a new revelation of ‘who’ Jesus is and help us understand ‘why’ You sent Him.

Help us, Lord God, to remember not only our American history but remember the Cross and all that it stands for. We ask these things in the name of the King of all Kings, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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