Where was I?

The US Capitol Building as seen from the Visitor Center

Where was I on that fateful September day in 2001?  I was safe and sound in the United States. . .  I had just returned from a mission trip to Costa Rica.  I was on top of the world, and then my world came crashing down.  I cannot remember the positive of my trip without thinking of the heartbreak that I felt as I watched the television and saw those buildings crash to the ground.  I was safe, but I now doubted who I was.

The sadness from that September in 2001 remains in my heart.  I know that I will never forget where I was, what I did, and how I felt.  Fear and doubt soon turned to anger. . . and that anger eventually gave way to sadness.  Gone forever was the innocence I felt prior to the terrorist attacks, replaced instead by an aching sadness.   I mourn for the child born to late to meet his father.  I mourn for the husband who will never again embrace his wife.  I mourn for the church who lost their priest.  I mourn for the cities who still bear scars from the attacks.  And, I mourn for the nation who is still struggling to rediscover its identity in this post-modern world.  Yes, I mourn.

So, it is very fitting that I was in the Rayburn House Office Building on 9/11 this year.  Today, I was sitting in a conference room listening to Representative Bob Gibbs of Ohio as a chime tolled and the building became silent as we all remembered those terrorist attacks of 2001.  On Patriot Day it is very fitting that I was able to be in Washington, DC to remember. . .

I would like to say that I now feel some closure, but that would not be true.  I still feel a loss, a sadness.  But, after observing the thousands of Americans in Washington today, it is obvious that all of America was changed on that fateful day in September so long ago.  On that day we all stood together and said, You may try, but you cannot destroy our PATRIOTISM.

I thank God everyday for blessing me with a wonderful place to call home.