We chronicle the passage of our lives by events. Each year of my life is commemorated by births, deaths, marriages and divorces that occurred within them. These events delineate specific beginnings and endings. Some events become seminal for a generation, denoting the beginning and ending of eras. They are like lines drawn in the sand of time or permanently etched in stone. So it was on 9/11, September 11, 2001. As a people, we mark American history before and after this infamous date.
It was a bright, clear Tuesday, a beautiful day. I was driving to my office and listening to the radio when the first plane hit. My initial thought was that a plane had lost control and crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. What a horrific accident! But when the second plane hit, there was no question that this was not accidental. Who would be so evil to do such a thing?
Terrorism took on a whole new meaning in America. Levels of anxiety and fear rose and never have gone back down to their pre-9/11 baseline. There has always been the nagging fear of an auto accident, an untimely death, or unforeseen bankruptcy. But this fear of the unknown became much deeper after the lives of so many were taken purposefully in just a matter of seconds.
All scheduled flights were shut down after another plane crashed into the Pentagon and not long after, one was diverted from its intended target and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Only one flight was still airborne. Air Force One carried President Bush back to the White House on that day.
I was walking in my neighborhood after leaving work at noon. With all that had happened, I was collecting my thoughts, praying for the victims and their families, crying. I was walking off the fear and anxiety, the unknown, when I looked up and saw it. I recognized the President’s plane immediately, flanked by fighter jets to protect it. The clear blue sky had no jet trails but those from Air Force One traversing the Midwest on its way home to Washington DC.
I lifted a prayer for President Bush, the man with a world full of responsibility on his shoulders. Be Strong and Courageous. Lead with Dignity. Comfort the American people who mourn their dead as in a war. I think he coined the expression, “War on Terrorism”. The battle still goes on 17 years later.
We woke up to uncertainty on 9/11 and the realization of what evil can do. That day marked a change in how most of American society lives and thinks. Who or what can be trusted in times like these? I choose to lean even more on the One who promised to overcome evil with Love. Rather than fear more, I trust more. I don’t have control over history and its conclusion but I know the One who does and He is faithful to keep His promises.
“The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made.”
Psalm 145:13
