Today is a day that many people in the United States will never forget, a day that 10 years ago brought terror to our nation. Thousands of people lost their lives ... thousands of families will never be the same again. As I watched interview after interview over the past week as people remembered September 11, 2001, I remembered where I was that day. I was working downtown on the 12th floor in one of the tallest buildings in Kansas City, and I had just arrived at work when the news of the attacks on the World Trade Center began to appear on the news. We all gathered in the room of our office that housed a big screen television and watched as the towers crumbled to the ground. I remember people screaming and crying, and I remember one woman who was completely distraught because her husband was in New York attending a business meeting at the World Trade Center.
When I went back to my office, the message light on my phone was flashing. As I heard my oldest son Matt's frantic message, I remembered that he was home sick from school that day. When he saw the news, he freaked out because I worked in a skyscraper in downtown KC and the media was reporting that there were several planes still unaccounted for. After I assured Matt that I was fine, one of my co-workers tapped on my door and told me about the Pentagon. Shortly after that news broke, the owner of the company I worked for closed the office and told us all to go home and be with our families. I remember hugging my children tightly as we watched the horror of the day unfold on television.
Saying goodbye to my family in Tennessee has always been hard for me, but this visit it was especially difficult. I wept and wept as I hugged my sister and my nieces ... it was without question the toughest goodbye I've experienced on any of the countless trips I've made back home. My oldest niece walked me to my car and climbed in and sat with me for a bit ... I'm sure she was trying to calm me down before I got on the interstate to head to my brother's house in Kentucky. When I finally pulled out of the parking lot of the restaurant, I could only drive a short distance before I had to pull over to the side ... I was crying so hard I couldn't see the road in front of my car. I managed to hold it together while I was at my brother and sister-in-law's house, even when I hugged and kissed them goodbye. But when I drove out of their driveway, the tears came and then the sobs and then another stop by the side of the road until I could see to drive.
As I drove back to Kansas City yesterday, one thought pounded in my brain ... all three of us, my brother, my sister and I have health issues. My brother and sister are quite a bit older than me, and they both have significant heart-related problems. My soul ached when I had to leave them ... it ached in a way it never has before as I found myself contemplating when or if we would see each other again. The feeling of homesickness flooded my mind and my heart again and again as I made the long drive back to the Midwest ... with every passing mile, I missed my family and the love I feel when I am with them.
This morning, my pastor spoke about September 11, and he shared a story about a man in one of his former congregations who passed away on a Sunday after the evening service. He talked about how he felt when he realized that his sermon was the last one the man ever heard and how we never know when it's the last conversation, the last moment, the last time we will ever have with someone. I sat there with tears streaming down my face thinking about the people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and I wondered about their last moments, their last words, their last hugs with the people they loved. I cried as I thought about my family and the parting hugs we shared on Friday and Saturday ... I cried as I thought about those I love ... my family, my children, my friends ... I cried as I thought of broken relationships and wounded hearts ... I cried as I thought of God's arms wrapped tightly around all those who are grieving or lonely or afraid.
Hug someone today ... listen to someone today ... talk to someone today ... my pastor is right ... you never know when it might be that person's final hug, final conversation, final time to see Jesus in you.
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