Where Were You?

By MAD21

Today, everyone seems to be talking about “where you were eight years ago today.” There are several people who have written amazing posts about what they were doing and their thoughts on the events. I thought I would share a few of them here. And then post my own thoughts.

Billy Coffey wrote about how the planes that flew over his house on a regular basis for years used to annoy him, but on the days that followed 9/11 it was eerily silent, and he missed them.

I loved the verse that Bridget Chumbley posted: “I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:20-23)

Kevin Martineau gave an interesting perspective from someone who lives in Northern Vancouver Island, Canada. He discusses what happened to the plane that was rerouted from Alaska believed to be hijacked and how all of the events affected him and his family.

Shane Vander Hart posted an amazing quote from former President Bush: “Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat.”- George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States

Bonnie Gray posted a song by Building 429 called, “Always.” This one will make you cry for sure. Bonnie says if you are asking God, “Where are you?” and “Why is this happening?” She reminds us that there is a promise at the end of all our confusion.

And those are just a few of the stories I read today.

There are a lot things that stand out to me about that morning besides all of the things we've seen people talking about today.

That morning I was in my car on my way to a class. Like most people I turned on the radio as soon as I was down the road. I kept changing the station trying to find one that didn’t have people talking. When I finally just settled on one station and started listening to what they were saying I thought it must be a joke, albeit a sick one. Then it hit me, this was real. I was at a stop sign in my neighborhood when the reporter who I was listening to [reporting from the Pentagon] started freaking out because he was watching the plane fly into the building.

I called my husband who was already at work. I was like, what do I do? Do I still go to class? Are you going to stay at work? It was pretty profound, and affects me still today. When huge things like this happen, and there isn't anything that we can do about it, what do we do? Do we go on about our business? I was frozen. I have no idea how long I sat at that stop sign before I finally drove on. I didn't want to really go back home, so I went on to school where those of us who showed up sat for an hour or so watching the television in our classroom.

I am an army brat, and proud of it. I loved being in a military family. My dad retired after 41 years of service in the Army National Guard in 1991. That evening when talking with him on the phone, he told me that if he'd been in his office at the Pentagon that morning, he would have been located in the area where the plane hit. Stuff like that makes these events personal.

If all this wasn't bad enough, my family had been in NYC less than a month before the attacks and we walked right past the WTC buildings. I remember thinking... 'What an odd design for the outside of a building.' Now those designs will be etched in my memory forever.

Unfortunately, those aren’t the only memories I have. In the years that followed that terrible event, we all saw a once united country start to tear themselves apart.

I'm angry that so many of our leaders forgot the real significance of that day. The perversion that has happened in regards to the decisions that were made and why they were made. The pure ignorance of the general population and media in wanting to turn so quickly on our President and other leaders who did everything they could to get the message out that we would not sit idle and allow it to happen again. Were mistakes made? For sure. But everyone is human, and we all make the best decisions we can with the information we have at the time. What’s important is that we move forward. It is never the time to point fingers, let alone pay millions of dollars to committees to go over all the facts just to determine who to point the finger at.

I hate war like everyone else. But the rest of the world doesn't live the way we do, they don't think like us or value life the way we do. And if everyone in this country thinks that we are told everything that goes on regarding national security, they are fooling themselves. The general population will never know how many acts of violence we were saved from in the years that followed those attacks [because of the decisions that were made], and continue to be saved from today. And that is the way it should be. Don’t think that our enemies don’t follow everything that goes on here.

We may not always agree with the choices our government makes, and I’m all for fighting to make things better. But we still need to respect our leadership; many have lost sight of that. Because whether you want to believe it or not, they do know more than we do about the security of our country. And especially as Christians, we need to respect them, and pray for them. Because God said so.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations%203:20-23&version=NIV

Comments

[Bridget Chumbley]

Great thoughts in your post. Thanks for the mention as well.
So many people shared their hearts today, and it is great to be able to let it out with others who understand... and who have their own stories to share.

I love it...Because God said so...

[MAD21]

Thanks Bridget :o)