9/11

As a history buff I have read countless stories of World War II. Most of which contain some sentence, paragraph or chapter about the moment the news of Pearl Harbor was heard. Everyone of that era could tell, in vivid detail what they were doing the moment they learned America had been attacked. Even now, you know what I mean by "Pearl Harbor". The president labeled it as a day that would live in infamy. He could not have been more prophetic.


Ten years ago, our generation had its own "Pearl Harbor" experience. 9/11, as we know it, is our day that will live in infamy. I completely understand what President Roosevelt meant. I will always remember my September 11, 2001....



It was the second Tuesday of the month which meant MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers). I was leading the group of young mothers. At home that morning I was casually going about my prep for the day. Alex had finished his poptart and was in the living room. I was finishing getting dressed and gathering all my "stuff" for the meeting. Around 8:00, David called from church to ask me if I was watching the news. Of course I wasn't, I was watching "Little Bear" (side note...I miss that cartoon). I will never forget his voice..."turn on Channel 5 a plane flew into the World Trade Center". What? Well that is silly, what pilot could be that near sighted? My initial thoughts were of a small, ultra-light kind of aircraft that would be seen hanging from a tangled wire on the side of the massive structure. My brain could not even conceive the true magnitude of what was happening. I turned the TV (amidst loud screams from my 3 yr old who could find no valid reason for switching off Little Bear) to a local news station. I sat silently back into couch. The initial images stunned me. How could that building be burning? "They will have to blow up water storage tanks on the roof to ever get that fire out" (pretty sure I saw that in an old OJ Simpson movie) was my first thought.

I channel surfed as I sat there...back and forth from the Today Show, CBS Morning show and Fox News. I had momentarily stopped (on Today, I think) as they were talking to a reporter on the scene. In a flash I saw something in the sky above the reporters head. Then there was the explosion. It was then that my mind sort of jumped into over drive to process what I had been watching and what just happened. I found myself crying out loud. I called David back, he hadn't seen the latest strike. He reminded me I had to drive to church, so I needed to calm down and get there as soon as I could. I wanted desperately to get to him. After I hung up with him, I called my mom. She was working but had been watching with the "girls" in her department. I didn't really talk long, just long enough to make sure she watching what I was watching and to hear her say "I love you".

I gathered everything I needed for the MOPS meeting and headed to church. I went straight to David's office after I arrived. I had been listening to the radio on my way in and there were wild "reports" of other plane crashes into the White House and the Capitol. I needed to see him and see what was really happening. He was watching in horror in between answering phone calls. There was so much consfusion during that time. The networks were trying to piece together reports from all over the place. It was hard to tell what was really happening. One of my vivid memories was standing in David's office, we were talking about how to handle the coming MOPS moms and their children. One of David's close friends came barrelling into his office screaming "that building is falling!" We had looked away from the TV to gather our thoughts for the day, we were now drawn back in. That building really was falling...that massive mammouth of a structure was collapseing. We watched in horror.

I had to prepare for the meeting so I was running up and down the stairs from the meeting room to the nursery area to David's office. Trying to keep up to date with the news. Here is a good place to point out a distinct difference between David and me... I am very much an information monger. I need information and details which I then process and process and process again. David is more of a big picture kind of guy. He gets the big picture and then starts taking care of people. It was enough for him to know that America had been attacked, people were killed, people were hurting, people were confused. He was ready for action. I on the other hand needed to know every detail that Fox News could give me. So I was constantly running in to his office for an update.

As the other MOPS leaders arrived we had to decide where to go with the day's meeting. It seemed a little petty to make a craft and snack on chips and dip when the world as we knew it was being attacked. So we stood in the lobby and prayed. I decided we needed to pray in the beginning of the meeting but then we needed to be as normal as possible. Not that crafting was an important skill but that many moms needed to know that life could go on and that whomever attacked us was not going to stop our lives.

The other moms arrived. Some had no clue about what had happened. Others were already crying and desperately seeking comfort. We spent our beginning time almost like a news conference. I reported what I had gleaned from TV reports. Our mentor moms reminded us that our young children did not need to see what was happening on TV. Their little minds needed protection. I asked for specific prayer requests related to the mornings events. Two of our moms had relatives in the FBI. They were obviously distraught. As I prayed I specifically prayed for the people who attacked us. Recalling the Old Testiment scripture about Joseph relating to his brothers that what they had intended for evil, God used for good.

After the meeting, Alex went home with a sweet friend while I stayed at church. I spent the day making fliers for a prayer time that evening and helping answer phones. In the afternoon I took the fliers around to local businesses. It was during this time that I first noticed how deeply everything and everyone had changed. The pharmacist that was always smiling and kind and loving was now somber and somewhat fatherly. Like the sad parent who tries to put on a happy face for their children. He was hurting inside but still trying to care for patients.
Then there was my fireman friend. He was a strong, former Marine who was almost larger that life. He laughed loud and gave out hugs like candy. I saw him in the pick up line outside the elementary school. He was sitting motionless in his truck listening to the radio. I greeted him with a smile, he greeted me with a distant stare. I started the conversation with "can you believe this happened?". He only replied, "I need to go there". His devotion to his fellow fire fighters was consuming his thoughts. He yearned to be in NYC, helping, digging, doing something. I reminded him he had a wife and kids to help through this then left him alone. I was taken by his yearning to be near brothers he had never met, brothers related only by their common profession. I left him sitting there motionless.

My next stop was the florist where the beautiful ladies with the flowers were constructing red, white and blue creations. They didn't have orders for them, they just needed to decorate with our colors. At McDonald's there was a distinct quiet. Even the playland was relativing quiet. People just seemed to order their mcnuggets and eat in silence. Every place I stopped had changed. This day had changed everything.

When I returned to the church I answered phones while the ministers and staff were making plans for the evening service. That night we had a quiet service of prayer and reflection. At the end of the service we watched a televised statement from President Bush. As I watched him, I was thankful he was my president. I had voted for him and prayed for countless days that he would win the fiasco of events that followed election night. Now, he was leading a nation under attack. In this fight, he was the man I wanted to be in charge.

We left the church and headed home. As we tucked Alex in that night we said extra long prayers over him. He would not grow up in the beaver-cleaver-like world of assumed safety. He would forever live in a world of profound suspision and fear. My heart ached for the world he would never remember.

It had been a very long day...a day that really didn't end. It was weeks before airplanes flew again or football teams played again. Fox News started scrolling updates along the bottom of the screen on the day of the attacks...today that is standard on all news broadcasts. When regular everyday events resumed, there were body scanners and security checks at every entrance. Life went on, but life had changed.

Ten years later, the scars of 9/11 are a little less visible on the surface. There are monuments where buildings fell. There are trees and flowers where the earth was once charred. Our new normal is full of security checks and restrictive laws. But there is one constant... the God who was God on September 10, 2001 is still God. He is God alone from before time began, He is on His throne... He is God alone!

Little "h" little "l" adventures

It's Labor Day Weekend and for me that means a trip home to the holy land. Notice that has a little "h" and a little "l". I am not from nor have I ever been to the big "H", big "L" Holy Land. My holy land is the beautiful place in East TN where I was raised, the place where most of my family still lives. In fact, my kids and I will spend this holiday weekend on the same road where my grandmother lived. The same farm where I played in the creek and pretended to build forts on an island will be home for a few days.
This is the scene that greeted me this morning. The kids were already in the pool and this was God's gift to me... yes this is my holy land!




I know you are saying "This does not look like an adventure". I would have to agree. A lazy morning is not an adventure. Getting here last night...now that was an adventure! When we left home the GPS was estimating our time of arrival at 10:50. We were on the road 7 minutes before I had to pull over and adjust a seat that had "just fell back" into the lap of an unsuspecting twin. Continuing on, a previously acquired pod and bbq sauce from Chik- fil -A "just busted by itself". That meant a detour into a Shoney's parking lot to clean clothes, car seat, van seat, door compartment and carpet. After emptying a box of wipes and using up all the napkins available, we were on our way again.
By this time the GPS had moved our arrival time back several minutes. But now, we were rolling. I could already taste Becky's fudge waiting for me. Then we hit rush hour. The GPS told me to turn around and go home :) An hour later we made it through the big city. Hello drive thru windows and movies on the DVD player. It was pretty easy going. The cruise control was set on 72 and we were movin' on.
We were nearing the holy land, so close I could smell the clean cool air. When in the far distance my rear view mirror revealed blue lights. Instinctively I said to Alex "Oh. I hope those are not for me" In my mind I am telling myself, "Surely he is not going to ticket me for 72 in a 70" I mean really, there are drug dealers and murderers running around and he wants to ticket a mom of 4 in a mini van.
As I contemplated the approaching blues, I noticed an SUV speeding up the on ramp ahead of me. It was flying as it hit the interstate and turned on it's blue lights. "Ah, something must have happened up ahead. They are together." Silently I hoped it wasn't a wreck because that would further delay this already too-long trip. As the blue lights ahead sped out of sight, the blue lights behind caught up to us. Now, let me just say I had purposely avoided hitting my brakes (So as not to draw his attention to my speed). I had simply disengaged my cruise and gradually slowed to 65ish. Now with Mr. Blue Lights right beside me on I-40, I hear the sound that strikes fear into the hearts of all man kind... sirens. I nearly fainted with a rush of panic. Fortunately, I recalled the advice of policeman church friends (pull over quickly but keep your hands on the steering wheel...don't panic and start flailing your arms around). So I pulled over, lowered my window and say still with my hands on the steering wheel. My body was still but my heart was pounding.
His flashlight searched the inside of our van as he walked up. "Good evening mam" (mam? really? when did I get this old)...anyway, I digress. "We are looking for a silver mini van that was involved in an abduction". In my panic I screeched out "Oh, these are all mine officer". He panned his flashlight to see my kids wrapped in blankets watching Toy Story on the DVD player. "Yes mam, you have a good night. Sorry to bother you."
He was back on I-40 with lights and sirens going before I could roll up my window. My heart was still pounding as my mind tried to process what just happened. I was thankful for no ticket. I was grateful that all my children were safe in my van. I overwhelmed with grief for a stranger who had been abducted in a silver mini van. I prayed a prayer of thanks and petition as I resumed on journey.
For the next several miles other law enforcement vehicles passed us. Alex wondered aloud how they knew not to pull us over. Did the first Mr. Blue Lights radio in "don't worry about the silver mini van traveling east on I-40 with Toy Story on the DVD player"? I don't know but we finished our trip with no other stops or events.
Today we climbed out of bed to see the mountains in the distance, the fog slowly burning off and the sounds of family milling around. I love this place. It may not have a Wailing Wall, a Temple Mount or a Via Dolorosa but it holy nonetheless.