Bigger Picture Moments: Day of Infamy

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President Roosevelt called December 8, 1941 "a date which will live in infamy".  The men and women of that generation remember that day well and know exactly where they were and how they felt the moment they heard the dreadful news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

The only way I remember that day is through their stories, from the pages of history books, or within a television documentary.  For me and perhaps most of my generation, the day of infamy happened on September 11, 2001. 

It was the start of my senior year of high school.  The day had just begun.  I had finished the day's assignment for my personal finance class, so I was chatting away with classmates while we waited for the bell to ring.

Suddenly, a murmur began sweeping through the room.  I heard the words "plane crash" and "Twin Towers", but I ignored them thinking it was just a conversation about a movie someone had seen recently.  I carried on my conversation until an uncomfortable silence swept through the room as the volume on the classroom television was turned up high.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw a crowd of people standing around, staring with wide eyed wonder at the story unfolding on the screen.  Curious, I walked over to join the crowd and, as I tried to piece together what had happened, I saw the second plane hit.  A collective gasp of horror filled the room and then, silence.

I don't even think the news reporters knew what to say.  How do you respond to an attack on our country being played out right before your eyes?  I grew up singing songs about the land of the free and home of the brave.  I read stories of other countries still suffering under persecution, dictators, and terrorism.  But I always felt safe, far removed from the horrors still playing out in this world.

That day I suddenly felt vulnerable, exposed, and somehow trapped.  I could almost hear the walls of the mighty fortress of the country I call home crumbling down around me.  If America wasn't safe from these horrors, was anyone?

The rest of the day was a blur.  The bell rang, but no one moved.  We all stood dumbfounded, unable to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other.  Painfully and heavy laden, I slowly made my way to my next class.  The hallways were eerily quiet.  No one knew what to say, what to do, or how to respond.

Class time that day was spent grieving and crying, watching more television footage, and trying to make sense of it all.  Our teachers were just as confused and lost, so the day's lesson plans sat on their desks untouched.  At lunch time, my friends and I gathered around and did the only thing we could think might bring us comfort in the midst of such turmoil - we prayed.

As we prayed, other students joined us and, for a moment, it didn't matter that we were in a public school or that we didn't all attend the same church or even attend church at all.  We just knew we needed to pray, to lift our eyes to the hills and seek some kind of answer for this mess.

That night, I attended a church service with my family.  We held hands and prayed for our country, knowing that only God could lead us forward from here.  I fell asleep that night, hands folded in constant communion with my heavenly Father...still very lost and confused, but slowly feeling a quiet peace wash over me.

Today, just over 11 years later, I can still remember that day as if it was yesterday.  It is, for me, the day that will live in infamy.  I don't think we should ever forget, lest we take the freedoms and safety we have in this country for granted.  And, in the midst of remembering, let us not forget the only One who promises true and lasting peace.

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

(John 16:33)

Linking up with Alita for this week's Bigger Picture Moments.