Shock. I watched in horror as there was a terrible crash. How was this possible? It couldn't be. Smoke. Thick smoke rolling from both buildings. I had just watched as a passenger jet liner had crashed into a building. One could be an accident. Two? It had to be on purpose. There must be something going on.
Unreal. The sky was blue, the beautiful blue of a September sky. The smell of wood smoke filled the air. Chatter taking place. Apple butter kettles were starting to cook. Smiles. Friendly talk. The day began so peacefully. Laughter. Kids watching, talking with the folks that were cooking. It was time for school. Loading the kids up. Car heading out. Smiles all around.
Arrival at school. Told of a plane hitting one of the twin towers in New York City. Must be an accident. And what is the twin towers? I really did not pay attention to what was in the Big Apple. Until that day. Lots of talk. Discussion. What happened? Keeping folks calm. Getting school ready. Confirmation class at Hoffman, IL was going to begin.
Then it happened again. Another plane. Another tower. More smoke. More fire. Watching on a TV. No internet like 2022. It was overwhelming. To see the tower smoking. To see the fire. What was happening?
Class is over. During class another plane strikes the Pentegon. Now what? Is it war? Is it going to continue? Could it get any worse?
Then the collapse. Smoke. Fear. Watching people run. Over and over again. Seeing it on the news. Replays. One plane. Two planes. Three planes. One tower. Two towers. Fear. What can you do?
Getting the children together at school. Sitting them down. Talking to them about what our Lord Jesus Christ does for us. The safety and security He gives to us, even in such a tragic time. Is there fear? Take it to the Lord in prayer. Are there tears? Take it to the Lord in prayer. So we did. We prayed. We sang. We thanked God for His protection. We prayed for those who lost loved ones. We prayed for those trying to help out. We prayed and then prayed some more.
And then, in a moment of faith, we joined in the Lord's Prayer. In that moment, we knew that we were in the hands of the Father. There was nowhere safer for us to be. Thanks be to God.
Did we forget? Did we let our memories forget what took place? Have we allowed the events of today to lead us to forget that day? I hope not. I pray not. At that time we said, we will never forget. Later it was said, Lest we forget. Today, I fear that is said, We have forgotten. May it not be so.
