September 11, 2001. At about 9:00 a.m. Like most people, I will never forget where I was. I can remember all the little details as clearly as if it was this morning. I was standing in HIS Paint getting some stain and polyurethane for some bookshelves we were building at church for our new pastor’s study. Someone walked in and said that a plane had hit the World Trade Center but no one was yet sure what kind of plane and if the reports were, in fact, correct.
Well it wasn’t too long before it became apparent that it was a terrorist attack and during the next several hours, things went from bad to worse. Soon the country was paralyzed with fear and uncertainty. Planes had been grounded. Airports closed. The workings of the country ground to a halt and most people were glued to the television. For it, I watched because it was too shocking to believe. It took me back to April 19th when the Murrah Federal Building was bombed just a few miles from my house. The difference was that they were saying nearly 60,000 worked in the WTC. To think that tens of thousands of people were caught in the collapses was unthinkable. Even though the numbers of dead were much less than that, it was no less sickening.
The Pentagon attack was even more disturbing in many ways. The center of our military force had not only been vulnerable, but it seemed that we were completely unprepared. I think it’s attributed to a lack of imagination on our part. We never imagined that something like this could happen.
Flight 93 – I remember hearing the tapes of flight controllers repeatedly asking for Flight 93 to respond. It had simply disappeared. Of course the fear was that it was heading to another attack site and any moment we would not only find the plane, but would be rattled again by its impact and destruction. It wouldn’t be long, however, until we would understand that the plane hadn’t disappeared. It had crashed into a field – the hijackers being overtaken by brave passengers and pointed at the ground in order to spare countless other lives. Apparently, they had somehow found out what was going on in our nation and decided that they would see that the attacks would stop with them. Bravery and courage that I wonder if I possess.
I remember that the nation turned to God. Government officials, people on the street, media personalities. It seemed like suddenly God was real after all – not some myth and object of ridicule. Churches filled up. Prayers were heard everywhere.
I heard a most amazing montage of 911 recordings on Friday morning. I share it with you now…
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