There are so many emotions, so many memories, so many pictures, so many missed, so many remembering and never forgetting 9/11.....
Watching the news, reading the newspaper articles, listening to others remembering where they were and what they were doing on this day 12 years ago is still very heart stopping. Many of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing. Most of us were glued to the television not being able to grasp what was happening....most in shock at the sight of that black smoke risin' against that blue sky. Some of us shouted out in anger, some just sat and cried. Some of us weeped for the children who lost their dear loved ones, and some prayed for the ones we didn't know. Some of us rejoiced for the ones who walked away from the rumble and we sobbed for the ones left below. Many of us burst out with pride for the red, white and blue...and for the heroes who died just doin' what they do. Many of us looked up to heaven for some kind of answer. Many of us are not real political, we may watch local news or CNN, we may not know the difference in Iraq or Iran, yet many of us know Jesus and talk to God, and we remember this from when we were young and taught in Sunday School...."Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us, and the greatest is LOVE." Some of us may of felt guilty cuz we were survivors, some may of felt alone in a crowded room. Some of us called our mothers and told her we loved her. Some of us dusted off the Bible at home. Some of us noticed the sunset the first time in ages, or we spoke to a stranger on the street. Some went out and bought a gun, some turned of the violent old movie we were watching and turned on "I Love Lucy" reruns. Some of us went to church and heldt hands with strangers, and some stood in line and gave our own blood. Some stayed home and clung tight to our families...thanking God we had someone to love.
(those are some of the amazing lyrics and words and thoughts from Alan Jackson)
As for me, I personally pray for those lost, for their families, for the huge void in their hearts. I am thankful for those there now fighting to keep this sort of tragedy from happening again, (I have never been more thankful and grateful for what our soldiers do, having a nephew in the Army and seeing the sacrafices him and his family have to make). My heart breaks for all of our fallen soldiers and their families. I still have vivid memories of seeing the second plane hit, of seeing images of those choosing to jump while news cameras were shooting live. I remember the fall of the towers and the people running for their lives. I remember the fireman running in trying to help and save others, the cloud of smoke and debris rolling like a huge cloud through the streets, covering people in ash, people covering their face, trying to breath as they run, some stopping to pray and pull others to safety. People making phone calls, hoping it's not their last and hoping to reach their loved ones. Two years later, I will never forget flying to New York, to standing in awe and sadness at Ground Zero. As us four girls got off the subway, walked up the stairway and there it was before us...Ground Zero, the raw emotions and tears only one will experience for themselves. I will never forget all the photos and all the letters attached to the fences, all the poems and memoriales throughout the city.
Today, I remember the day that changed us forever. A day that changed a city and a world and millions of individuals. 12 years later, my heart is still heavy with the loss of nearly 3,000 innocent men, women and children killed in the terrorist attacks on that September morning. One thing that the terrorists could never destroy though is our shared humanity....I believe a nation became a family and it was amazing to watch a world come together with unlimited compassion.
It was also amazing to see all the different cities and fire departments and groups that stood in silence remembering when each of the towers were struck, when they fell, when the Pentagon was attacked and when Flight 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Today so many of us shared a reflection or memory through social media, performed an act of service, flew our American Flag, or simply remembered in prayer. As I watched and listened as each name was read aloud and echoed across the grounds of each memorial, it made me feel like I was standing side by side with the loved ones of those who's lives were so tragically taken on this day 12 years ago.....so many emotions, and definitely reassuring I will never ever forget 9/11.
Because of His Amazing Grace....
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