Remembering 9/11

Our newspaper is running a series on the events of September 11, 2001.  It brings back a flood of memories about that fateful day where the course of this country was altered.  Life would never be the same.  And yet, life is still the same.

When massive events such as this happen, we always remember exactly the place and time we heard about it.  For me it was an ordinary day.  It was a Tuesday.  I was busy getting our little family ready to head off for our annual church convention.  I happened to be ironing.  The phone rang.  It was a good friend of mine.  She said, "did you hear the news?".  I thought it might be about someone we knew that had a baby or died.  No, I responded.  "Linda, get to your computer and look."  Then she said something about planes and fire and scary things and got off the phone.  I rushed to the basement where our computer was at and got it going.  I saw the unspeakable tragedy.  The second plane crashed into the second tower.  The Pentagon crash.  And finally, the Pennsylvania one.  It was horrible and sad.  I wondered briefly if this was 'it'.  The end of the cozy world as we knew it.  But yet, there was a peace I felt.  The world isn't in our hands, it is in His.

I felt an incredible urgency to fly a flag.  I drove to several stores before I found one with a pole attachment.  I carefully got it drilled into our porch pillar.  And I hung up Old Glory.  I did it just because I love my country and I wanted others to know it too.  Since that day, we have always had a flag flying in front of our home.  Why you ask?  Because I love how it looks.  I love the soft flutter.  I love the colors.  And again, I love our country.

Ten years is a lot of time when you have young children.  Here is what our little family looked like in September of '01.  Daughter #2 wasn't even a twinkle in our eyes yet.

Look at these adorable faces.

So the following day we headed up to our favorite grounds.  The kind servant chose the first hymn.  "Lord we rest in peace abiding..."  I will never sing that without remembering....  remembering when I looked down the bench to see the Chairman.  He was our rock.  Remembering those little trusting faces that had their life in front of them.  And remembering that peace can overcome any tragedy....