Where Were You?

Do you remember where you were on that fearful day? The day that our country was turned into a nation of panic, disbelief and grief? THAT day. September 11, 2001. It was my junior year of high school and our bible class had just started. Our headmaster knocked on our door and after a few minutes of a quiet conversation between himself and our teacher the television was turned on. Our class had probably never been that quiet. We watched in complete shock as the scenes from that tragic day unfolded. We were escorted, along with the rest of the school, into the gym where another small rollaway television was brought in. Our headmaster led us in prayer. We prayed for the families, the lives lost, our nation and our nation’s leader. I remember hearing people talk about the unknown and if there were going to be more attacks all over the country on this terrible day. Our parents were called, if they hadn’t already called themselves, and we were dismissed for the rest of the day because frankly no one knew what was happening or what could happen.

Has it really been 14 years since that day? Have you thought about how you would honor those that lost their lives that day? Or our servicemen and women that risked their life to help others in a desperate time of need? What about our military that left their own families to protect us and ours when they were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan so we could sleep easy at night?

Today I will be surrounded by hundreds of veterans, many of whom served during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, to participate in Freedom Day. I urge you to seek out, honor and give your time today as well. It can be something as simple as taking a freedom basket to your local fire and police station’s first responders. Google 9/11 events that are happening in your area and actually go. Don’t let today pass you by without thinking about how far we have come from that dreadful day that took place on our doorstep.

Until the Mission is Complete,

Farabe’