Remembering 9/11

It was early morning on the West Coast, and the kids weren't up yet. Usually Daniel, a baby at the time, was up early to nurse. But this morning he chose to sleep in. I went online to check how the stock market was doing. The first thing I saw on the news site was the headline, "America Under Attack!" with a photo of one of the Towers in flames. For a moment I thought it must be a hoax, but then the shocking reality set in. This was real. This was actually happening.

I immediately called Alan on his cell phone to see if he had heard the news. He said that he was on the way home. He had been driving to work but the boss had called everyone to tell them not to go in that day. I was relieved; I wanted everyone together.

Because we didn't have a television connection, we kept abreast of the news online and via radio. The kids woke up wanting breakfast and went about their day not knowing that the unfathomable had just happened. They played with Lego, read books, watched a video, went out into the backyard as usual. Alan and I, on the other hand, could think of nothing else. Could talk of nothing else. Could only pray and wait for more news.

Then I thought of the women who were on the Apples of Gold email list, and felt stirred to send out encouragement. To remind them to keep their eyes on Jesus. The Spirit spoke and the words came quickly and God Is In Control went out to several hundred women. The words were as much for me as they were for anyone else.

That Sunday, we had the largest turnout in the history of our church--over 20,000 people showed up. We sat outside the sanctuary on folded chairs because of the overflow of people. It was a day of many emotions. We grieved over the tragedy while we rejoiced that many were coming to Christ.

It was clear then, as it is now, that our only hope is in the Lord.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear." Psalm 46:1-2a