Never Forget

9/11…. the day the United States of America stood still. The citizens of the USA cried, we were glued to the news with shock and disbelief.

9/11 for me was unlike any other day in my life. I got up, was getting ready for work and turned on the television only to see an airplane flying into the World Trade Center. I remember being shocked… not being able to comprehend what I was seeing… that this could even be happening. And then the tears started rolling down my face as panic set in. This was the United States of America. We were a country of freedom, liberty, a land that was protected (or so we thought) from terrorist attacks.

I went to work that day unable to work. I remember walking out to the parking lot in front of my work and gathering with strangers… crying together, hugging each other. I remember holding my daughters that night as fear gripped us. Fear of what was happening. Would it happen again? Does this mean we are at war?

We rallied together, supported one another, supported our troops. We came together.

And then we got back on with our lives… except for the people who lost their loved ones and the ones who witnessed first-hand the atrocity of it all.

Why is it that in times of extreme shock and hardships we can set aside our differences, come together, connect, love, and support people who we don’t know or are at odds with? Yet in times of peace we tear each other down?

Today, as I wake up to 9/11… I remember. I hurt again for the people who lost their loved ones. I pray for protection over our country. And I pray that we come together again as a country, despite our differences and seek a common ground. That we empathize and really look to understand what other people are feeling, going through, and support one another. To hug our loved ones, to look at a stranger in the eye, to connect. To pause.

Today I remember… I remember the men and women who lost their lives, who gave their lives, who saved lives. And I pray that our country pauses… that we unite, set aside our differences, stop making people wrong or right, and figure out how to live together and make our world a better place. There are people hurting. Destruction is all around. Fear is all around. What would happen IF we came together like we did on 9/11?

United we stand.
Divided we fall.
Today, I seek to understand and connect.
To bridge the gap.
To love.
I. Stand. For. Justice. Equality. Life. Freedom. Hope. Peace.

I will never forget…

Mary Belden-McGrath