Truth

This post is coming a day late, but I really wanted to think about what to write in regards to the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. I'll be honest when 9/11 happened it didn't phase me. I know that sounds terrible but this post is about the truth and that's it right there. I was a junior in high school and had just finished with dance team practice when a fellow student came into the locker room laughing, she had heard a plane had just crashed into a building in New York City, "What a dumbass" she said. I shook my head and resumed getting ready. By the time I made it to vocal, my first class of the day the mood was different. My teacher had the TV on and as we rolled into class we knew something was strange. That was when we learned the crash was not a simple accident but much more. I specifically remember my teacher saying to us that we would never forget where we were in that moment, and I haven't. The rest of the day we watched a little TV with the teachers that would allow, or we carried on with our normal routine. In fact that's all that I really remember about 9/11. Yesterday gave me new perspective.

While seeing the advertisements for 9/11 specials and realizing that 10 years goes incredibly fast I began to take in the gravity of what happened that day and what I truly take for granted. I assume that in my small state, in my small townhome and in my small circle of friends that tragedy will not strike. We are young. Our friends and families are healthy right now, we have not experienced the loss of a baby, the stresses of cancer, financial turmoil, personal injury or more importantly an attack on our lives from a terrorist. I felt so geographically removed from the events of 9/11 that it wasn't of my concern. That sounds as bad on "paper" as it did in my heart.

While in church yesterday I experienced one of the best sermons ever. I knew it would be a big task for Mike to cover and he did an excellent job, but he would be the first one to tell you it wasn't him who did the talking. So I will say God spoke to my heart yesterday and if you want to hear the sermon I did, here's the site where you can watch Mike talk http://hopeonline.tv/. The sermon is part of the Rocky series on the right hand side, with the date of 9/11, or you can download a podcast here. The overall theme and why I love Hope so much are so apparent in this sermon and it's truth.

Hope's mission is to teach directly from the Bible, the word of God and when looking at the events of 9/11 I'm sure many people were mad at Him and still are, but God never told us it would be an easy road, he lays it out for us in John 16:33, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” God doesn't say follow me and the road will be easy, He tells us that the road will be hard, our hearts will break and tragedy will strike but to have faith in Him. 

As I continued to listen to the service my heart just broke. I thought about how it would feel to be in the seat of one of those planes, I thought about living in a country where war surrounds you and I thought about the people that went into the buildings to try and save any one they could. We watched a movie clip about 2 officers who when into the towers to do just that. Then I thought about courage. If God asked me to trust in Him and go into a dangerous situation would I do it? Would I have the faith, that He knows what is best even if that meant I might not come out alive. That thought was heavy and I along with many others began to cry. We mourned for the lives lost, and gave thanks for a loving and truthful God. A simple rendition of Amazing Grace was sung and I held on tightly to G's hand, thankful that I have such a good man to go to church with. Later we both talked about our thoughts on the sermon and I know I have a new perspective on the events of 9/11.


If you are like me and the gravity of that day hasn't weighed in on you, that's ok. Here are some numbers published by the New York Times that again, put things in perspective for me:

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.

See Also: The Encyclopedia of 9/11

• Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2,819
• Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343
• Number of NYPD officers: 23
• Number of Port Authority police officers: 37
• Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60
• Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402
• Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614
• Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658
• Number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom: 22
• Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115
• Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1
• Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39
• Bodies found "intact": 289
• Body parts found: 19,858
• Number of families who got no remains: 1,717
• Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000
• Total units of donated blood actually used: 258
• Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609
• Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051
• Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20
• FDNY retirements, January–July 2001: 274
• FDNY retirements, January–July 2002: 661
• Number of firefighters on leave for respiratory problems by January 2002: 300
• Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200
• Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98
• Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124
• Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99
• Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100
• Days the New York Stock Exchange was closed: 6
• Point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average when the NYSE reopened: 684.81
• Days after 9/11 that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan: 26
• Total number of hate crimes reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations nationwide since 9/11: 1,714
• Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion
• Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million
• Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million
• Estimated amount donated to 9/11 charities: $1.4 billion
• Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11: $40.2 billion
• Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion
• Amount of money recently granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion
• Estimated amount of money raised for funds dedicated to NYPD and FDNY families: $500 million
• Percentage of total charity money raised going to FDNY and NYPD families: 25
• Average benefit already received by each FDNY and NYPD widow: $1 million
• Percentage increase in law-school applications from 2001 to 2002: 17.9
• Percentage increase in Peace Corps applications from 2001 to 2002: 40
• Percentage increase in CIA applications from 2001 to 2002: 50
• Number of songs Clear Channel Radio considered "inappropriate" to play after 9/11: 150
• Number of mentions of 9/11 at the Oscars: 26
• Apartments in lower Manhattan eligible for asbestos cleanup: 30,000
• Number of apartments whose residents have requested cleanup and testing: 4,110
• Number of Americans who changed their 2001 holiday-travel plans from plane to train or car: 1.4 million
• Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000

Those numbers are hard to swallow, but I have faith in the truth, and know our God is good.