I was in the little half-gym with middle grade students at recess on this day 23 years ago. It was Tuesday, the only day my fellow teacher, whose classroom sat across the hall from mine, didn’t cover recess.
She’d turned the little black and white television on in her room only to see reports of the first plane hitting the first World Trade Center tower in New York City.
Other planes crashed, the second tower, the Pentagon. A field a little more than an hour’s drive from us in Pennsylvania.
Our school day dissolved into silent horror peppered with occasional whispered questions.
Who did that?
Why?
What will happen next?
The teacher across from me worried: Her father was supposed to have been at the Pentagon that day.
I called my son, then an army reservist. “Turn the television on. You’re going to get called up,” I said.
“No, we won’t. Our unit isn’t big enough.”
Perhaps he truly had confidence that would be so. Perhaps he hoped to soothe his mother’s worry.
Two years and a few months later, he was among some few soldiers plucked from the small unit to fill out a larger one to go to Iraq.
He remarked several times last year. “It’s been twenty years” as if in disbelief that time could pass so swiftly.
Twenty years ago. A milestone of memory.
The world changed that day in 2001 as we knew it would, but then we didn’t know how it would change.
In many ways, it also stayed the same.
We didn’t fix the Middle East through his deployment–or in the next two his brother served.
Our everydays seem the same. We get up in the morning. I still teach. Work, family, and faith fill our days.
Children grew up. More grandchildren followed and now three great-grands have arrived into this same and different world.
On September 11, 2001, we woke up and went to work and school feeling safe, feeling the glory of a beautiful day–the kind I now call a 9/11 day.
The uncertainty of life on earth came home to us hard that Tuesday morning 23 years ago. An uncertainty other people in other places and times have endured as a constant.
We live in history. Every moment of every day.
And every moment asks us.
What will you do with your time?
How will you now live?
Photo Credit: Unsplash
So true,Nancy. Life does indeed go on. Being aware of its beauty and the value of each moment as we go through the necessary tasks of day-to-day living is something we lean on Holy Spirit for, redeeming the time.
Redeeming the time, such an important concept to consider. Thanks, Terri. God bless!
That day touched the lives and hearts of many people. I pray that God will cover us all with His love and protection today and every day. We have hope with God.
He is our only hope, indeed. Thanks, Melissa. God bless!
So powerful. I remember thinking it was the beginning of the end back then. I remember thinking that during COVID, too. For some, it was “the end.” For me, it remains a lesson to make every day count and live for the Lord.
Quite profound, Jessica. The beginning of the end was or will perhaps be a point we will only be able to see from the perspective of eternity. I’ve had the same feeling though. Perhaps Satan’s way of disabling us–at least temporarily. Thanks, and God bless.
“How will we now live?” Your question is pertinent to each of us and the future of our country. If we don’t learn from history and from the mistakes of the past, we wil continue to make the same mistakes. May God bless us and guide us. We need Him.
We most certainly do. Thanks, Katherine. May we look to Him. God bless!
Powerful message, Nancy. Thank you for reminding us of that day of sadness for our nation. Thank you to both of your sons who have served to protect us. God reminds us in His word to number our days. May we treasure each one as a sacred gift from Him.
Every moment holy. Thanks, Melissa. God bless!
I was just telling my daughters that day was one of several that changed our lives (husband worked for FAA). I pray for those impacted and that we became better people through it.
It was a wakeup call that jolted us. Most of us rolled over and went back to sleep, sadly. May we be awake and alert, seeking God now. Thanks, Yvonne. God bless!
I recall, though it doesn’t even feel like 23 years, my disbelief. I felt like it couldn’t be true, yet I knew it was. I had no idea things would forever be different until I’d been at work for some time already. Yet, as you put it, we live in history. Every moment of every day. Even history building on history. Our world, though the same, is forever changing. Thank you for this challenge to make the best of our time.
Thanks for commenting, Stephen. Every moment is history. Every moment is holy (to quote the book series). Sometimes it takes us weeks or months to process the big events. Every event, big or small, every day, is leading us to the day when Christ makes all things right. God bless!
Thank you, Nancy. We will always remember that day and never forget. I remember working from home when someone called and told me to turn on the tv. I was horrified and sad. My niece was turning sixteen that day. Now, I always remember it’s her birthday and how a special birthday was clouded by the darkness hanging over the world and our country that fateful day. I want to ponder your last two questions and reflect on them as never before.
Thank you, Karen. God bless you and your family. May 9/11 be a good day every year, especially for your niece. God bless!