Remembering September 11th

Originally posted on Sept. 11, 2008

I venture to say that every American born before 1955 remembers where they were and what they were doing the day they heard President Kennedy was shot. (I was in Jr. High science class.)

Likewise, for Americans born before 1995 or so, that morning we heard about the attacks on the Twin Towers will be forever fixed in our psyches.

We were heading back from our Way out West Yellowstone vacation--hadn't had a TV or radio on in weeks. Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota was our last stop. But as we approached the monument's parking lot, we were met by a Park Ranger, blocking the entrance. He told us to move on. That is odd, we thought. At the second parking lot we asked the Ranger at the barricade why we couldn't park, since Mt. Rushmore is always open.

I will never forget his reply. We are closed because of the terrorist attacks in New York and don't know if there will be others on prominent American landmarks. (Mr. Rushmore was considered a possible target.)

What?

We could see he was not in the mood to chat, so we drove on and quickly turned on the radio. Unbelievable. We listened, but could not process what was transpiring on the east coast. It was very surreal--especially because we were far from home.

After topping off our gas tank and visiting the ATM we talked about what we should do. Go home? Stay put? We opted for staying in South Dakota. Plus, if things really went crazy, we figured better to be in a hotel than stranded on the road.

Numb, we muddled through the day, visiting Custer State Park, with the car radio on.

Our son was 12 years old at the time. My husband and I yearned to tell him everything would be alright. But in all honesty, we couldn't. We just did not know what lay ahead. The only thing we could assure was that it was in God's hands: 2 Chronicles 32:8 came to mind.

"With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles."

We were all Christians, ready to meet our God. If He chose to protect us, great. If not, so be it.

Our nation held its collective breath, waiting for something else to happen after those first 4 plane crashes. Thank God, it didn't.

After a few days, we started our trek home. Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, we saw "God Bless America" signs pop up everywhere--from gas stations, to fast food restaurants, to city hall marquis. People instinctively knew we needed divine intervention.

I really thought we could be in for a string of attacks. That life in America would come to resemble life in Israel, where attacks and explosions are commonplace.

But amazingly, we have been incident free. I attribute our safety to 2 things: God's grace and President Bush. Whatever you may think about the Bush administration, it is quite remarkable that we have not suffered another attack. It certainly isn't because the terrorists have forgotten about us.

Almost every politician ends their speech with, God bless America. I know God has. May He continue to shed His grace on our nation.

"America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!"

This is a day to remember and a time to pray for our nation, leaders, and families that lost loved ones.

Links: Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki McKenna Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation