The Belstra Chronicles: Never Forget

One place Matt and I were determined to visit on this trip to New York was the World Trade Center Memorial. I still remember that day...

I was sitting on my parents' living room couch eating breakfast lost in thought in a silent room. (I was living with my parents to save money while my house was being built; it would be complete in a month.) My mom quickly entered the room, crying and very upset, so upset that she couldn't tell me what she'd just seen. I jumped up and went to face her, never seeing her this way before, asking, "Is it Dad?! Did something happen?!"

My mom always had the Morning Show on while getting ready for work in her room. While watching an outdoor news feature, the camera panned toward the sky and showed the first plane fly into the North Tower live. She saw it happen in real time and she was devastated.

She immediately rushed to find me. As she struggled past the tears and panic to tell me what she saw, my heart sank deep into my stomach. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was as if time stood still.

We watched the news together as they pieced together what had happened. Was it an accident? or an attack? All the while, we had the sinking feeling that nothing would ever be the same in America again. It became clear what was happening as we watched a plane fly into the South Tower. Never before had I felt afraid of foreign attack or invasion.

Due in at work, I made myself get ready and go. All I wanted to do was sit and watch the news; to see what would happen next, to pray.

At work, almost everyone in our department at Bellevue was a bit shaken. A few hadn't heard the news. We gathered a couple of televisions from the children's ministry area of the church and attempted to work a little while being sure to watch all we could.

We saw people jumping to their death once they realized they were trapped and the heat was continuing to rise. We learned of the attack on the Pentagon and saw the damage there. We saw one tower collapse and then the other. We desperately prayed. We heard about the fourth plane and wondered why it went down in an open field. It continued to get worse, far before it was over.

We saw the ash covered rescue workers and ash covered streets. We grieved along with the rest of the nation and wondered what our future would hold. We prayed God would continue to protect America; that God would help those people, somehow, and their families.

Even now, it is hard for me to process that near the 11th anniversary of that day, my husband and I stood on the same ground as that tragic event occurred. We walked along solemnly thinking about what it would have been like to walk there the morning before the attack, to fall victim to the vicious criminals who took so many lives.

We looked at their names etched in stone and ran our fingers along them, wondering who they were in life, who loved and lost them. We appreciated the artist who designed the memorial, creating such a peaceful place to come and remember. We grew thankful that we are still living in a free America, a place that God has kept safe and secure from foreign attacks or invasion these 11 years since 9-11.

For me, the memorial stands as a sort of rainbow. I believe God has kept a hedge of protection around America since our founding to achieve His purposes through us. I believe it is a part of His plan to mobilize us to reach the world for Christ and in order to enable us to do so, He has provided us peace, resources and freedom in this land. I'm reminded of the verse, "To whom much is given, much is required."

Sometimes I wonder if God stayed His hand on us since that dark day because we cried out to Him in our time of need. As this election nears, I'm hopeful we'll cry out to God again in desperate need for healing, for sustained peace and freedom in our nation.

Never forget. In God we trust...

God bless America.