Written by 
It was just a normal September day…..
I arrived at the church building at approximately 8:30 a.m., said “Good Morning” to my secretary, and settled in to my office. At about 9:15, I was returning to my office after refilling my coffee when my secretary said that she had received an e-mail from a friend saying that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. My first thought was that it was a joke. And then I thought it was probably a small, single-engine plane. But then she said it was serious – that an airliner had hit the WTC. We turned on a TV, just in time to see a replay of the plane hitting tower 2.
We didn’t know it yet, but the world had just changed.
Shortly after that, they showed video of smoke coming from the Pentagon. My secretary looked at me with an expression of concern and asked, “What is happening?” We both got a sick feeling in our stomach when we saw the first tower collapse. We realized that no work was going to get done that day, so we went home early.
As the day progressed, we began to realize that the world had indeed been changed. Cable TV networks canceled their programming, professional sports were put on hold, churches all across the country (including ours) had prayer services on Friday, September 14th, and our nation was united in a way that I had never seen before.
Shortly after 9/11/2001, Max Lucado wrote a piece called “Is This Normal?” Here is an excerpt:
America was different this week. We wept for people we did not know. We sent money to families we’ve never seen. Talk-show hosts read Scriptures, journalists printed prayers. Our focus shifted from fashion hemlines and box scores to orphans and widows and the future of the world.
We were different this week. Republicans stood next to Democrats. Catholics prayed with Jews. Skin color was covered by the ash of burning towers. This is a different country than it was a week ago.
We’re not as self-centered as we were. We’re not as self-reliant as we were. Hands are out. Knees are bent. This is not normal. And I have to ask the question, “Do we want to go back to normal?”
Unfortunately, we did go back to normal. People have forgotten the evil of that day. Politicians are screaming at each other, trying to blame everyone except the terrorists for the attacks. Some want to try to understand the terrorists, or even negotiate with them (how do you negotiate with someone who only wants to kill you?).
Thankfully, some still remember. Pray for our enemies. Pray for Those who willingly put themselves in harm’s way to protect us. And pray for those who were personally affected by the events of that day.
Thank you, Jeff, for this excellent post!
May we never forget those whose lives were senselessly taken from them.
May we also remember those who selflessly sacrificed their lives so that many would-be victims were spared.
May those whose hearts are bent on vilolent destruction of others experience a change of heart and direct these energies to helping others.
— — —
A Prayer for Humanity
May God lead us from death to life,
from falsehood to truth.
May God lead us from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
May God lead us from hate to love,
from war to peace.
May God fill our hearts, our world,
and our universe with peace.
- bill Williams
I liked the way the nation pulled together after the attacks. It does seem like things normalized pretty quickly but in some ways I still believe we are forever changed. I know my life has been.
My wife (now -ex) was a flight attendant for American Airlines. That was pretty traumatic at the time. She flew on one of the first flights after Regan National opened back up. There were 13 passengers and six of them were Air Marshalls carrying guns. They made it real clear that it was shoot to kills and if they yelled “duck” you had better hit the floor.
It has been sad over these five years to see the slow decline of patriotism since 9/11. I have been noticing on many blogs ( Christian and others) that people feel like we should be more of a global community and patritism excludes to many people. I think that is very very sad. Pride in our country has always been one of the United States great assests. And ,we haven’t been afraid or embarrassed to show it… pride in our country is a way of life here. Not now. We have tried so hard to be so inclusionary that now patriotism is considered a step child that only comes out on special occasions. So sad.
Very good blog. I agree with the comments. I enjoy reading from someone who is a Christian and American with the priorities in order.
I wish we could go back to a united front.