Remembering that fateful September day
Here is an article I published in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin today.
It is hard to believe it has been five years. I was at Newark International Airport on American Airlines Flight #829 on September 11, 2001. It was 8:50am and my plane was still sitting at the gate. Our pilot made an unusual and disheartening announcement, “This is your pilot. I have just heard from the tower. We will be delayed in pushing back because there has just been an unconfirmed report that a plane has hit the World Trade Center.� About ten minutes later the pilot came over the intercom again and announced, “May I please have your attention? Folks it looks like we will not be flying anytime soon; air traffic control has notified us that all planes are grounded. Feel free to disembark. The gate agent will keep you posted. Sorry for the inconvenience.�
I jumped out of my seat and headed towards the exit. As soon as I debarked, I could see a crowd gathering around the TV in Terminal A’s Café, Bar and Grill.  It was so cramped that I decided to jog about 30 paces up the tarmac to look out the window. What I saw changed my life. Across the river I could see the Trade Towers. There was a cloud of smoke coming from the North Tower. I returned to the Café to catch what was being reported. The News reporter stated that a second plane had flown into the World Trade Center. I realized that I had to get out of the airport. I as I ran back up the tarmac I could see the other cloud billowing up from the South Tower. I just couldn’t believe what I saw.
Practically everyone living in the Boston/New York/D.C. corridor at the time knew someone who was lost or affected on that tragic day and the entire nation was impacted. It is safe to say our lives have been forever changed by the stories of ordinary people who demonstrated extraordinary courage on that September morning!
Our lives have been forever changed by the stories of ordinary people who demonstrated extraordinary courage on that September morning!
How can our nation and we maintain character, courage, and faith in the face of such horrifying tragedies? My wife and I have a friend who penned the words, “Truly we have lost much, but we have gained much as well. As Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50:20 I say now to the originators of the evil acts of September 11, ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done.’�
I have been amazed at God’s grace over the last five years. I have come to believe that God desires to be very much present during times of trouble. Today more than ever, Jesus Christ passionately invites all people to follow Him. In Him we can experience an unparalleled hope for future – even in today’s troubled world – even on days like 9-11.