September 11

is not just another day........................its the day that changed my life and changed America.  Nine years ago today I was going about my usual day, planning dinner for all of us, listening to the news as I worked, wondering if Jason was going to need my help hauling grain from the field, thinking about my first grandbaby  who had been born just 26 days before.  And then there was a report about smoke coming from the Twin Towers ..............................they thought it was a small plane.  And then the live video began to feed across my TV screen.  There was a lot of confusion about what was happening, a lot of speculation.   Emergency workers were making their way to the tip of Manhattan, not knowing what was really happening, but answering the call to whatever lay ahead.   Then the second plane hit and we knew that this was no accident.  I think of those people in those planes and wonder about the anguish and fear they were experiencing as they flew so low over Manhattan.  I wonder if they realized what was going to happen.  And the people in those buildings.  They were just working, going about their daily lives.  I read a book about what was happening in the towers after the attacks.  People were desperately looking for ways out............taking the stairs, bashing their way through drywall, navigating over disorienting debris...............plunging to their deaths because they could not breathe or they didn't want to burn to death.  And all the while those brave firemen and policemen and emergency workers were pouring into those buildings, headed toward the inferno.  And then the Pentagon was hit and there were reports of more planes heading toward the capitol and possibly the Sears Tower in Chicago.  I will never forget the look of shock on our President's face when he was interrupted in a classroom in Florida with the news.  Our great country became a No Fly Zone and then we heard about the plane that crashed in a farmer's field in Pennsylvania. 
     Several times a year I watch the movie about Flight 93 and the passenger's brave attempt to recapture control of the plane..................................I don't want to ever forget.     And I think about what our brave men and women in the military are doing to protect us.  I just hope we are doing enough to prevent this from happening again and I think we must continually remember and tell our children and grandchildren about the day our nation was attacked by a group of extremists who want nothing more than to kill each and everyone of us.   Let's not forget their intent..................Let's not take our safety and freedom for granted. It is a precious thing that must be defended....................and by the grace of God, September 11 will never happen again.