Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Remembering 9.11.01 with Memories, Book, and Photos


This post contains affiliate links.

I've posted my memories about 9.11.01 HERE where I blogged about what I was doing on that shocking, sad, overwhelming and tragic day in our history.


This morning I will read again the book, The Little Chapel That Stood, to my 5 children.  It has become our annual tradition to remember 9.11.  It is a beautifully written and illustrated book that I highly recommend for anyone with young children.  Here is the product description from Amazon:

Product Description

St. Paul's Chapel, dwarfed by the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center right across the street, stood strong after the "giants around it had come to a fall" in 9-11. Not a pane of glass had been broken. On 9-11 St.Pauls became a service dept immediately. Firemen hung their shoes on the old iron fence as they "pulled on their boots and raced to the Towers, climbing melting steel to flaming showers. Oh, what gallant men did we lose who never came back to get their shoes."
This historic chapel was built in 1766. When George Washington was inaugurated the first president in New York City, he walked down Broadway to St. Paul's to offer his prayers for the new nation. Alexander Hamilton lies buried in the churchyard nearby.



Inside the book cover I have these two pictures taped that were taken when my boyfriend, now husband, went to New York to visit my grandparents in August 1993.   My grandparents lived in Bronx, NY, but Anthony and I went into the city and made it up to the top of the Twin Towers.
   


Who knew that 8 years later on 9.11.01 these pictures would give me such a strange and sad feeling??  And that 20 years later I would be showing my children these photos with such a heavy heart? 




We remember and pray today for all the lives that were lost on 9-11 in the air and on the ground in  NY, PA, and at the Pentagon.  We especially remember and pray for the victim's families and friends whose lives have been directly affected and have never been the same.  I can't imagine how so many must feel....

I  found this "Where was My God on 911? on the The Drew Mariani Show Facebook page that K.S. submitted in the comments. Thanks for sharing this K.S.! I've never seen it before now and it says so much! 

Where was My God on 911?...........

How many of us have heard that question "Where was your GOD when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon was attacked?" Well I know where my GOD was the morning of September 11, 2001, and He was very busy!
He was trying to discourage anyone from taking these flights. Those four flights together held over 1000 passengers and there were only 266 aboard.
He was on 4 commercial flights giving terrified passengers the ability to stay calm. Not one of the family members who were called by a loved one on one of the hijacked planes said that passengers were screaming in the background. On one of the flights he was giving strength to passengers to try to overtake the hijackers.
He was busy trying to create obstacles for employees at the World Trade Center. After all, only around 20,000 were at the towers when the first jet hit. Since the buildings held over 50,000 workers, this was a Miracle in itself. How many of the people who were employed at the World Trade Center told the media that they were late for work or they had traffic delays.
He was holding up 2-110 story buildings so that 2/3 of the workers could get out. I was so amazed that the top of the towers didn't topple when the jets impacted. And when they did fall, they fell inward. GOD didn't allow them to topple over, as many more lives would have been lost.
And when the buildings went down, my GOD picked up almost 6,000 of his children and carried them home with him. Reassuring his frighten children that the worst was over and the best was yet to come.
He sat down and cried that 19 of His "misguided" children [terrorists] could have some much hate in their hearts. That they didn't choose Him, but another god that doesn't exist, and now they are lost forever.
He sent his children that are best trained for this disaster and had them save the few that were still alive, but unable to help themselves. And then sent many others to help in anyway they were needed.
He still isn't finished though, he held the love ones that were left behind in his arms. He comforts them daily. His other children are given the strength to reach out to them and help them in any way they can.
And I believe he will continue to help us in what is to come. He will give the people in charge of this great nation the strength and the wisdom to do the right thing. He would never leave us in our time of need.
So when anyone asks, "Where was your GOD on September 11", you can say "everywhere"! And yes, although this is without a doubt the worst thing I have seen in my life, I see God's miracles in every bit of it. I keep praying for those who don't believe in GOD, every chance I have. I can't imagine going through such a difficult time and not believing in GOD...
Life would be hopeless.
[Author Unknown]




 

2 comments:

Chris said...

Lovely, yet sad, memories.
What beautiful pictures.
We've been to the top also, but no pics. It was sort of a "typical" day...hate to say it b.c NY is right in our backyard....so we hardly brought the camera with us. Now, as a mom, my thinking is different and I snap pics constantly of everything and nothing.
It's very difficult to get moving today, constant flashes of that Am 12 years ago. Worry about my 3 brothers who were all downtown, friends and friends' husbands, neighbors. No one could be reached til late that evening after they walked home. But they all got home.
All close to us, made it out and home. we know so many who didn't.

One friend's husband is still tormented by guilt.... he will never forget the young, brave firefighters loaded down with equipment, running in and up the stairs as he ran down and out of one of the towers. He got home late that night after about 10 hours of walking and had no idea that the towers even collapsed earlier.

I love the Little Chapel that stood...I can't read it though with the kids. I've tried and it's too hard. We talk about the event, pray and then move on trying to distract ourselves.
Prayer service tonight at our church. Our pastor's brother and so many in our town perished and so we do this every year.
Thanks for sharing this, Tra, and for a space to talk abt the tragedy.

Hi Chris,

I'm just responding to your heartfelt comment, 2 years later! Shame on me! Thank you for sharing your experiences. It's so overwhelming how much this horror stole so much. I can't imagine what so many experienced that day. It breaks my heart. Thank you for commenting!

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Subscribe and never miss an update and post!




Hello! Thank you for your Visit!

Hello!  Thank you for your Visit!
I'm Tracy. I love my faith, family and on most days, homeschooling my 5 blessings. When I'm not busy baking cakes for my family or making memories in real life or dreaming I had a housekeeper or professional chef, I enjoy documenting a slice of Smith life in blog land.

Looking for Something? Search My Blog

Follow Me

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5144881https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Slice-of-Smith-Life/119996718052404?ref=hlhttps://plus.google.com/u/0/+TracyBuaSmith2029/postshttps://www.pinterest.com/tracybuasmith/

Followers

Please Visit My Sponsor

Amazon Affiliate Search Box

You can support my blog and my family by purchasing through my Amazon affiliate link by using this Amazon Search Box to find products and I will receive a small percentage from your order at no cost to you!

Visit My Friends and Affiliate Links!

I get a small percentage from your purchases!
Thank you!




CCC of America

Brita Baby Boutique

Brita Baby Boutique
IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES !

Follow Me on Pinterest!

Member of Catholic Bloggers Network

Saintnook: Check It Out!

Saintnook: The Saints are Always Online

Curious about the Catholic faith? Click Below

My Blog is Listed at Blog Mommas

My Blog is Listed at Catholic Mommy Blogs

Healthy Moms Magazine Recognition

100 Top Homeschooling Blogs | Healthy Moms Magazine

Blog Post Categories

Blog Archive

Design by My Heart's Desire Creations Copyright © A Slice of Smith Life. Powered by Blogger.

Grab My Button

http://asliceofsmithlife.com

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright © [2010 and forward]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material and images without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.