I would often hear my mama say that she would never forget where she was and what she was doing the day that JFK had been shot in Dallas. To her, even though she was a thousand miles away and did not know the president personally, it still hit her in a very emotional way because it was her president and he was a symbol of hope and vision for her generation. For me, it was just history. A moment that shaped our nation and tragedy that impacted his family, the people that knew him and truly our entire nation. But to me, I could never fully understand how she felt on that day and how she would remember that day for the rest of her life. That all changed on September 11, 2001.
I can tell you right where I was and exactly what I was doing when John Clark made his way to the back of the shop where I worked as a press operator for Matthews Printing and he shared that he had just heard on the news a plane had hit one of the twin towers. He walked back to the other building and I paused long enough to think, that is awful, and I wonder what happened to the plane that caused it to crash. Then, I just kept running envelopes, like my normal day. But this was not going to be a normal day for anyone that was alive on September 11, 2001.
It was only about 15 minutes later; John came back into the shop and he informed us all that he had just heard on the news that another plane had crashed into the other tower. My immediate thought – America is under attack. I instantly wanted to make sure my wife and daughter were ok and that they were not out and about and were at home safe. I know that sounds crazy, but it was my first thought, make sure they are ok. I can only imagine what others felt that who had family they could not reach or could not make sure they were ok.
As the morning continued, we wheeled a TV into the shop, and we watched the news firsthand and saw the reports of another plane that crashed into the pentagon and then another plane crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. There was a lot we all still didn’t know for sure but for me and most Americans that day, we were sure of this, America is now at war. So then, I remember thinking, what do we do and how were we to respond? For our president, He was now a war time president and His was called on to lead us in this crisis. For the first responders, they were the ones fighting to save lives and run into the danger as everyone else was running out.
And for the average American, what were we to do? We all had fears, worries, and disbelief that this had even happened. How could we have been attacked, are we safe, can we stay safe and would we survive? I remember having all these thoughts. Like my mom, I was thousands of miles away from ground zero and at that point did not know anyone who worked in the towers or on the planes, but it was still personal to me. These were my brothers and sisters as Americans and this was my nation, the United States of America, under attack. It was personal to us all.
As I have reflected today over the events of those days, months and years that have followed, I have thought about what we did as Americans and what we learned. Then, I thought, 18 years later, are we still doing what we did then, and have we grown because of what we thought we learned then? For those of us alive on that day, we say often – We Will Never Forget. That is true. But for an entire generation, they are just like I was when my mama talked about JKF, they read about the attacks on September 11 but it is just history to them, they did not live through it. We have high school seniors that today were not even born when the attacks happened. They don’t know, just like I didn’t know, that the world they were born into was changed in an instant and they have been raised in a post 911 world that has been shaped by what happened on that day.
So, for us to not forget means that we not only remember the day and how we felt, but I believe it also means we must encourage the next generation to realize the impact of that day and we must go back to what we did and what we learned and make sure that we continue to respond this way and teach these things to the next generation.
Here are a few thoughts on what we did as Americans on that day and the days that followed:
We prayed
One of the first things I did after making sure my family was ok was to call some ladies from our church and have them call our church family and ask them to gather at the church so we could meet and pray. They did and we did. We had more people on a Tuesday night impromptu prayer meeting than we had ever had on a regular Wednesday night prayer meeting. We prayed for the nation, the families, the president. We prayed the Lord keep us safe and bring us together as a family. We sought the God of heaven in our hour of need. We were not alone as people met in churches, families gathered to pray and others just spent time in personal prayer for our nation and each other.
We came together as one nation
I still remember seeing on the news that night, our entire congress, people from both sides of the isles, standing arm and arm on the steps of the capitol singing God Bless America with one voice. On that day and days that followed, it was not republicans and democrats or blacks or whites or one group against another group – we saw ourselves as One Nation, One People, facing this war together in unity.
We sacrificed
One of the first acts of sacrifice happened on Flight 93 as a group of passengers voted to rush the cockpit and take over the plane. These heroes gave their lives to save countless thousands. They were the first of many who would do the very same thing. People gave of their time, their work, their money, their heart to help make a difference. Some fought, some cleaned, some recovered, and some gave the ultimate sacrifice, their lives.
We served
People found ways to serve victims, serve the first responders, serve one another and again, seek to help somebody else and not be focused just on them. Many signed up for the military on that very day and others followed. Folks felt the need to make a difference and be a part of helping others in need.
There are many other things we did, but these came to my mind. Then I thought, what lessons did we learn? Now, not from a president or military leader’s perspective, but for us who lived through that day and the days to come, what did we learn?
Here are just a few thoughts on the lessons we learned that day:
Evil is Real
What those hijackers did on that day was nothing but pure evil. One moment we are going about our daily lives, almost oblivious to the battle that is going on in this world. Then the enemy of us all, Satan himself, the true Evil One, invades the life of someone and they apart from Christ, commit such evil acts upon other human being. Sure, we all knew this, but on this day we were reminded again; Evil is Real.
Life is Precious
There is not a one of us that had kids then that did not hold them a little tighter that night. Not a one who didn’t make sure their family was ok and others they knew were ok. We were reminded in a real way, life is just like the Bible says, a vapor. We are here one moment and then gone the next. This became personal the very next day. On that Wednesday morning one our salesman, Justin came in, just like he did every Wednesday. Justin, loved to joke, cut up and have a great time, always smiling.
But that morning, like us all, he was more somber. Then, I asked how he was and what he thought about it all and he begin to cry. His daughter, unbeknownst to me, worked in New York City. She was scheduled to have a meeting at one of the twin towers the morning of the attack. But as she made her way to the train station, the meeting was postponed to later in the day and so she planned to take a later train and just went back to her apartment. If the meeting had not been changed, she would have been in the middle of the building at the exact time of the attack. Justin wept with me as he was reminded and so was I, life is precious. God called some home that day and for reasons known only to Him, allowed others to live.
Death is a reality
The people that went to work at the towers, at the pentagon and others who boarded planes that morning, had no idea that morning that this would be their last day on this earth. Truth in the matter is none of us know the day or the hour we will die and leave this world. September 11 taught us again, death can come at any hour or any day and that it is something that every person ever born must face, the reality of death. And that in death, there is life afterwards and what we do with Jesus here, makes a difference then. Which leads me to the most important lesson……
Jesus is our only Hope
On this day and for many days after, more people were in church, more people were praying, and more people were reading their bibles. Why? When the world is falling apart, which is how so many of us felt, we need someone greater than ourselves to give us hope, comfort and peace. Jesus was then and still is the only hope we have of escaping death and destruction and having a lasting peace in our hearts and in our lives. Jesus was there on that day and He remains with us every day. We must only look to Him for hope in this life and in the life to come by accepting Him as our Savior and then trusting Him with every day.
Again, these are just thoughts. But what troubles me this morning as I cipher on this day and all that we did and all we learned; I must ask the very hard question – have we forgotten?
Now, please do not misunderstand me, I know, just like me, none of us alive on that day will ever forget where we were and how we felt. It was a day forever etched in our memory banks. But have we forgotten what we did and what we learned? And the greater question now 18 years later, are we still doing what we were doing and are we still growing in what we learned on that day and are we teaching this to those coming along behind us?
Amid a divided, immoral, ungodly nation, are we better or bitter? It seems we are fighting about politics, race and care more about party lines than we do people? Have we forgotten how we came together as one people and one nation? How about the church? Do we live each day knowing how much we need to pray for our nation and its leaders, are we seeking Jesus as our only hope and fighting the good fight of faith knowing that life is precious and evil is real and only by the power of Christ can we defeat the enemy?
I know these are hard questions, but I think they are necessary. Because, if we still have a heartbeat and God has not called us home, I believe we can still go back and do what we were doing and can still grow in the lessons we learned and we can impact the generation that will follow us!
Today – we can pray, we can serve somebody else, we can look for ways to think of the other person over ourselves, we can seek ways to help each other instead of ways to harm each other. I am not saying you and I should compromise our believes, not at all, but we should see every person the way God does: a soul in need of salvation, a soul He died for and a soul that needs hope. No matter the party they are for, the color of their skin or where they are from, may God give us His heart and His hands!
We can talk to our children and grandchildren about the sacrifice that was given that day and the many days after to keep them safe. We can explain that this nation has problems and is not perfect, but it still a blessed nation and one that can be amazing if we all do our part. You can take them aside and pray with them. And guess what, it is Wednesday night, you can go to church and PRAY!!
On this day, I pray we do not forget. I pray we do not forget what this day means and how we felt and what all took place. But, most importantly, may God help us not to forget what we did, what others did and the lessons we all learned. And may we never forget above all, that Jesus Christ is our only hope and keep our eyes on Him. That while He has us here in this great nation, we will keep growing in the lessons learned and teach them to the next generation. May God bless America and my God bless each of you who read this today.
Pastor Michael
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