I was standing in the kitchen of my house in Tampa, Florida the morning of September 11th with my mom. Mom and Dad had been visiting for the week. Scott had been called to a church in Tennessee and Mom and I were packing my crystal. We were all smiles, excited that we would be moving closer to home. Alex & Taylor had just left for school and Jarod, still a baby, was playing on the livingroom floor near his Papaw who was watching the morning news. They had been talking about George and Laura Bush being in Florida that morning reading to school children at a local school. Mom and I weren't paying attention to the TV though, we were busy chatting about the flight we would be making in a couple days up to TN to finalize our housing and such when my Dad interrupted us. We walked into the living room and I didn't understand what I was seeing. He said, it's the World Trade Center. I said, what happened? Did something blow up? He said, a plane has flown into it! I was still confused. I was still thinking it must have been a small plane, but how could they not see the Tower? Then I heard them say, it was a 767, a large passenger plane, with at least 92 people on board. I said, "how could this happen?" and my Dad just said, "Terrorists". As we sat there staring in disbelief at the smoke and flames, suddenly another plane appeared and smashed into the other tower. My knees buckled, and I sank into my chair, thinking to myself, "oh my God, what just happened....what just happened?? How many people where on that plane? What is happening?!" The news came shortly after that, that there were more planes that had been hijacked and they didn't know where they were going. The only thing I could think of at that point was, I want my boys. I want them here with me now! I don't remember now if I went to get them or if I told Scott to go get them. I was in such shock. We weren't far from an airbase and the jets had been scrambled. We would hear them overhead. Then news came of the Pentagon being hit, and another plane crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. My world changed that day. It went from one of feeling safe, to feeling terrified, unsure of the future, extreme sorrow for the ones that lost their lives, and extreme anger at the ones that caused it. Watching those towers burn, seeing people jumping or falling from windows, and then seeing them come crashing down on live TV is something I can never erase from my memory. Trying to comprehend the evil behind the attacks was more than I could ever wrap my mind around. So many people gone in an instant. But I will also never forget the next morning. It was a beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky, nor a plane. Quiet. Pictures from New York showing black smoke still pouring from the holes where the towers had been, ash covered rescue workers trying desperately to find survivors, and seeing that picture of the Fire Fighters at ground zero, raising that flag. After that, there were flags everywhere, every house, every store, every car. And I will never forget President Bush asking for us to pray for the families and quoting the Psalms. He reminded us that our God is stronger than any terrorist attack, stronger than anything we might ever face. It was so very comforting to know that our country was being led by a man of God. Americans came together like never before after 9/11. Yes, we had been shaken, but we would not be defeated. That day changed us all in many ways. But I don't think it did what the terrorists had hoped. It brought us closer together, brought us to our knees in prayer, brought more of us to Christ. I will never forget that day. What about you?
"If you've knelt beside the rubble of an aching, broken heart,
When the things you gave your life to fell apart;
You're not the first to be acquainted with sorrow, grief or pain,
But the Master promised sunshine after the rain.
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
Weeping only lasts for the night;
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
To invest your seed of trust in God in mountains you can't move,
You have risked your life on things you cannot prove;
But to give the things you cannot keep for what you cannot lose,
Is the way to find the joy God has for you.
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
Weeping only lasts for the night;
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
Just in sight!"
When the things you gave your life to fell apart;
You're not the first to be acquainted with sorrow, grief or pain,
But the Master promised sunshine after the rain.
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
Weeping only lasts for the night;
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
To invest your seed of trust in God in mountains you can't move,
You have risked your life on things you cannot prove;
But to give the things you cannot keep for what you cannot lose,
Is the way to find the joy God has for you.
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
Weeping only lasts for the night;
Hold on my child, joy comes in the morning,
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
The darkest hour means dawn is just in sight.
Just in sight!"
2 comments:
I will never forget that day as long as I live. Everything you said, I could not have said it better myself. We Americans are strong beyond anything that terrorists could ever fathom. We come together in a crisis. Our faith and our God sustain us. God Bless America and all that it stands for.
Mom (Diane Hartman)
Thanks for sharing. I was working as a counselor at Clayton High School and during the morning break at 9:00 I went out in the hall outside my office and a teacher said, "Isn't that awful about what happened at the World Trade Center!" as if I knew. I asked what happened and he said a plane flew into it. A moment later, one of our new young Social Studies teachers came up to me to say his uncle works at the World Trade Center and immediately what was happening became personal and real to me because I was standing there with someone who had a family member involved in this event. I thought about his uncle all day long as I witnessed the events on CNN the rest of the day. Fortunately, the next day I was able to find out that his uncle had not arrived at work yet because he had stopped to vote in the local election before he went to work and so he was physically okay.
The fact that I remember each minute that unfolded in those first few minutes of learning about the event and who was around me and where I was even standing in the hall is amazing how a tragic occurrence in our lives can leave such a profound mark on our memory. It's easier to understand how people suffer from post truamatic stress syndrome the more intensely they are affected by the event. Praise God that he was there to comfort our nation during that week just as he is with us everyday to encourage us through the events in our daily lives.
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