Where were you when the world stopped turning?

I am having a hard time believing that it has been 10 years from that horrific September morning. It's been a whole decade but the memory of that day still remains so fresh in my mind. I remember how the teachers were all in a daze and were trying to shield us students from any images until they knew what was really going on. They gathered my whole grade of about 60 students into the room above the church and told us that there had been an attack and explained that planes had been hijacked and two of them had flown into the World Trade Centers. We all sat there in shock, waiting for the meaning of those words to sink in. It wasn't until they pulled aside a friend of mine who's dad was a pilot to explain to her that he was okay, that the reality of the absolute magnitude of loss we as a nation were about to endure together hit and we all started to cry. Most of the students went on with their school day but when my mama showed up in the middle of the day with this look of total fear on her face, my sisters and I knew something was seriously wrong. My mama pulled us out of school to tell us that my sister's Godfather, Mike, was supposed to have boarded a plane at the Dulles Airport to fly to California that morning. That same plane later crashed into the Pentagon where all its passengers and the 5 men who hijacked it were killed, as well as 125 people that were in the building. We had not heard from him and weren't sure if he was alive. Miraculously though, Mike had not boarded the plane that morning. Instead he had taken a different flight and was forced to land in Texas after an alert for all inbound flights to be grounded. The phone lines were jammed because of the millions of phone calls being placed that day so when Mike finally got through to his wife Jo we were all so relieved. I truly believe God had a hand in protecting Mike that day. On a day full of such tragedy that left such a crater of loss and pain, having this small but wonderful moment of hope was such a blessing.

The way the American people rallied around one another is incredible and fills me with such a sense of pride and honor to call this great country my home. My thoughts and prayers are with all those who lost someone. May we never forget the lives lost, the courage and bravery of those men and women who risked it all to saves the lives of others and those who continue to serve and protect our country to this day. God bless the USA.

You can find so many tributes to September 11th but the above two videos really touch me all the way to the core of my soul. Please watch and remember that we are all in this together, united as one nation under God.