Good Evening, Dear Friends!
I pray this finds you all doing well!
I believe I would be remiss
if I didn't set aside a blog post in dedication to
September 11, 2001.
I think we all remember where we were
when we first heard the news
that our beloved Free America had been attacked.
It's the kind of information that is
ETERNALLY SEARED into your remembrance.
I was only thirteen but I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was at school, my beloved NLCA.
The day had just begun
and I was mentally orienting myself for the work ahead of me.
My desk at the time was the one closest to the classroom door.
So naturally when the door suddenly burst open,
it made me jump in my seat.
Since my desk was facing away from the door,
I couldn't see who had entered.
And therefore, I couldn't figure out what had the person so worked up.
Moments later, my amazing principal, Jonathon Lashley,
and my drama teacher
- who I adored beyond all reason - Adina Lashley
ran past my desk talking excitedly.
I KNEW something MAJOR was happening at that point.
(My principal NEVER approved of running in the classroom!)
Moments later, my principal walked back by my desk
pushing the TV cart.
He called for the students: "Please turn around"
(our desks faced the wall...typical ACE School of Tomorrow stuff.
You can learn more about the School of Tomorrow here.).
I turned around in my seat
just in time to see Bro. Jon shove an unbent coat hanger
into the back of our previously channel-free television
(we only used the TV as a monitor for viewing videos).
Naturally, I found this odd.
He fa-niggles with the hangers and some wires for a few moments
and then all of a sudden we have news images
of a CATASTROPHIC NATURE flashing before our eyes.
As best he could under the circumstances,
Bro Jon took a moment to explain what it was exactly that we were watching.
He announced that classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day
because he felt that we - his students -
should have first row seats to this history-making tragedy.
I remember sitting in front of that television set '
for the rest of the school day.
Of course I took necessary lunch and restroom breaks,
but other than that,
I sat glued to that screen.
I had just visited New York City that previous summer
on a school trip.
I remember being amazed at the height and majesty
of the World Trade Centers.
To watch them plummet from sight that day was...
UNREAL...AWFUL and UNREAL.
A few days ago,
I "re-watched" the news from that awful Tuesday.
The images struck me just as hard
as when I viewed them the first time.
Maybe even more so...
as I said I was only thirteen when this occurred.
Those people where just going about their daily lives.
Going to work at the Pentagon...
getting on a plane for a normal business trip.
And they didn't come back...
I could have added images from that day in this post.
But I just...couldn't.
I didn't lose anyone from my personal life that day.
And I consider myself beyond blessed for that.
But I did lose something that day.
Along with all Americans,
I lost my sense of security.
I lost brothers and sisters that I hadn't even met
and to be honest, I still feel that loss to this day.
September 11, 2001 showed me that sometimes
REALLY HORRIBLE things happen to good people.
And that human beings are capable of great evil.
But we are also capable of great compassion.
The whole point of September 11th
was to divide us through fear and catastrophe.
I don't think it is a coincidence that the terrorists chose
to exclusively use American and United Airlines.
They wanted us quaking in our boots
and ripped apart at the seams.
But that's not what happened.
In the months following 9/11,
this country came together in an unprecedented way.
We fought side by side,
hand in hand
against a common enemy: Terrorism.
The Sleeping Giant had been awakened and wounded.
The kid gloves came off that day.
America went looking for her fight and found it.
Gargantuan tragedies like 9/11 scare me.
And they should.
But on this 12th Anniversary of the Attack on America,
I don't feel hopeless or discouraged.
I am a citizen of the greatest nation on Earth.
I am free to be whatever I want.
And, at least for the moment, I am safe.
But even if I lost my freedom and security tomorrow,
I would know that everything was still going to work out fine for me.
Because I'm a child of God.
He takes care of me
when everything falls apart.
When magnificent earthly buildings fall,
He reminds me that this is just my temporary home.
I am just passing through.
I wasn't made for here.
I was made for Heaven and for Him.
(John 14:2)
When I'm afraid of the evil lurking around the corner,
His word tells me that I am an overcomer
by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony.
(Revelation 12:11)
And when I am bombarded by hopelessness and discouragement,
He reassures me, "...I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
(Matthew 28:20)
The video below is one of the news accounts I viewed a few days ago.
Just thought I would share it.
Thank you for reading!
GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!
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