Wednesday, September 11, 2019

9/11


Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

School room trailer separates
From all visual communications
Radio on at planning time
Keeping company, until it's not
The buildings struck, unbelief
Shrinks in reality's evil presence
Thoughts of family, hearts and minds
What are my children thinking, suffering?
How I long to be with them!
I pray as stunned students drift
Through door, craving comfort, calm
The peace passing understanding
I have no words to offer, to fill
The void created by wanton acts
Of malice, violence, hate manifest
Because I'm speechless; choose to listen
We hug, we cry, we freely vent
And everyone hears, grieves.  Everyone
Because we need each other more
Than we imagined or intended
But God knew always, all along.

Where were you on 9/11?  Please share your thoughts and prayers in the comments below.

18 comments:

  1. Let us pray for world peace. Oh dear ... Martha ... when will we learn to live in peace? I join with you in prayers.

    God bless you all.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Victor, let us pray for that with our whole hearts. May the love of Jesus overcome all evil in this world.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  2. I was on vacation in Connecticut and was leaving on 9/11 to go home the most direct route -- through New York City. Driving toward the city we kept seeing signs that said, "NYC Closed." It was the most horrifying day of my life. I pray all the time for the survivors of this tragedy and for those who lost loved ones. We must never forget.

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    1. Oh, Kathy, what a horrifying day for you being so close to ground zero! Yes, we can never, ever forget, nor should we. Keeping up those prayers with you.
      Love and blessings!

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  3. I was in my Clearwater (FL) office when a client phoned with news that a 'small single-engine plane' had flown into the Twin Towers. (Oh, the mis-information!) Besides the managing partner, there were only two of us employees. Each of us had differing cell-phone providers, yet no-one could get a signal. Unofficially, we learned that due to our proximity to MacDill AFB where Air Force One waited, communications were ceased until President Bush was safely aboard and they could take off. (Not sure if that's true, but it makes sense.)

    I don't know if you follow (blogger) Carol at Buttercup Counts her Blessings? As a resident of Manhattan, each year she chronicles her experience. As in the past, today's post is heart-wrenching. Here's a link if you'd like to read it:
    http://buttercupcountsherblessings.blogspot.com/2019/09/looking-west.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for posting Carol's link here, Mevely. I'll be sure to check it out.
      And your story, considering where you were at the time, makes perfect sense. I do recall how much misinformation there was before the horrific truth came out. Such a sad time in our history . . . May we never forget.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  4. Praying for our nation, Martha. Thanks for the poem and for inviting others to share. It was interesting and heart wrenching to read the responses here.
    I was a young mom just returning from an early morning prayer with a few friends before getting my two older children ready for school. Needless to say,they did not end up going to school that day.

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    Replies
    1. Beckie, thanks so much for sharing your personal story here. My kids were both in high school at the time, and there was no way I could get to them. Prayer was the word of the day, as it should be in all the days of our lives. May our nation never forget, always remembering those who lost their lives in those tragic incidences.
      Love and blessings!

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  5. I too was teaching that day, Martha. I will never forget how those teenagers said to me "I'm scared, Mrs. Hess". I was scared too!

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    1. Mine, as you could tell, were so frightened, too, and I worried so about my two kids who were both in high school at the time as there was no way to get in touch with them. Pray we never, ever have to go through such a traumatic time again in this country.
      Love and blessings!

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  6. Thank you, Martha. I was standing in the kitchen when my daughter called to tell me, and I turned on the TV, shocked and speechless at the horror of such hate-filled violence, and broken-hearted for victims of such unjust actions. May God bring His peace into our world and our nation! Love and blessings to you!

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    1. A horrific day for us all, Trudy; evil and malice gone wild in front of our shocked eyes. Yes, may we be one nation under God, and may He bless us.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  7. "we need each other more
    Than we imagined or intended
    But God knew always, all along."
    Yes.
    I was making pizzas on a field trip with my daughters at Domino's on 9/11. The workers in the back had a TV going, and one by one we moms figured out something was happening and went back there and were horrified by what we saw on TV. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lisa, for sharing where you were and what you were doing on this tragic day. The joy and innocence of making pizza shattered . . . May we ever remember the victims and their families.
      Love and blessings!

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  8. I was at the flea market where I had a booth, and someone in the booth across from me had her radio on. That was about 8:00 am. Then, totally unrelated, my cousin died of cancer on the same day, so I can never forget that either. I pray that nothing so horrific will ever occur again. This date every year must bring such sadness to those who lost loved ones. May God comfort them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, dear, Diane, what a doubly horrific day for you! So much sorrow, all at once . . . Yes, may God comfort all those who still grieve the loss of loved ones.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  9. Martha, I'm so sorry to be late reading and commenting. You're words here are beautiful and capture the heartache, the feelings of not knowing exactly what to think or how to process the horrific act of terror.

    I was at home when I learned the news. At the time I was working on my Master's thesis. All I can say is that I wasn't able to work on it for several days, as I watched far too much news coverage trying to make sense of what made zero sense.

    Love and blessings!

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    Replies
    1. Don't worry about being late to the party, Kim, I'm just glad you came by and shared your memories here. Yes, the saddest day, practically in our country's history, at least in recent times. May God protect us from such attacks in the future.
      Love and blessings!

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