10 Years Later 9-11-11

Ten Years Later

Its the big day. Lots of documentaries on television and remembrance programs. The President even read Scripture this morning...without anything added, just God's Word. Most people on facebook are posting where they were this day ten years ago. I was in the middle of nowhere with the Resident Assistants from Cedarville University. We were in nature for the entire day in an effort to bond and promote unity. It was a gorgeous September day. We didn't hear about the events that were unfolding until right before the towers fell. I remember we all wanted to leave and go back to the college to watch the news, but they wouldn't let us. So, at lunch we huddled in a van listening to the news station. I remember trying to take part in the team building experiences and feeling like this was just wrong. No one wanted to participate bc no one wanted to laugh and have a good time. At that moment, it felt wrong to laugh and play around. On the way home, we found a diner and ate dinner there. We (all 50ish of us) sat on the floor huddled around a tiny television set. I remember when the President spoke that night, we were calmed by his words.

But mostly I remember the uneasiness that threatened to overcome me. I now know that it was anxiety. It was the beginning of my realization that I cannot control everything. I felt relatively safe until 9/11. That day, and ever since, there has been a different feeling in the air. I know that God is in control. I know that He has a sovereign purpose. But I suppose that this event began my realization that in God's soverignty, people die. That duty and sacifice are real, and that faces are not nameless. That the people that died that day were real: moms, dads, husbands, wives, best friends, siblings. I am not ever going to forget. Because this day not only changed our country forever, but it changed me forever.