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9-11 and the Lessons Learned

September 11, 2017


I was the administrator of a private school for the deaf in Marrero, Louisiana - Chinchuba Institute - on September 11, 2001. I was arriving to school, and entered the cafeteria. My teachers and staff were listening to a radio and upstairs in my office, the executive assistant had the t.v. on in our conference room. At first, we all thought what a terrible accident -- a plane had hit a building in New York City. 


As we watched on the small screen, suddenly another plane hit the other building. My stomach felt that I was on a roller coaster; the feeling was shock, disbelief, then fear and dread.


My daughter had been in New York only two weeks before visiting good friends as our gift to her for her senior year. She had toured the city, and had pictures of the twin towers among her collection. My niece had just been there as an employee of Cantor-Fitzgerald,  training with the company that she worked for at the California office. She, along with her co-workers in California, had the employees in the New York office on speaker phone when they heard the screams, as the tower was hit, and then crumbled. The closeness to the event and to those who lost their lives from Cantor-Fitzgerald took a toll on her, and it was years before she would be able to cope with this anniversary.


As the events of that day unfolded, I joined our nation to grieve, as we looked to Washington to respond, to tell us all was under control, and to lead us towards a sense of calm. Sadly, I have learned that few events such as this is ever “under control”; that grief is always just around the corner; and that Washington, while responsive, is not the source of our peace and calm.


I will never join those who claim that God is causing bad things to happen, that only if we repent and turn to Him, there will be no sorrow or strife. He’s not the storm. He is the tranquility afterwards. He’s not the fear. He is the courage found in His people. He is not the devastation. He is the heart of those who come to serve the unfortunate.


As every tragedy that befalls our great country -- whether it be terrorist attacks or devastating storms, I am amazed, humbled, and overwhelmed by the outpouring of people helping people, strangers helping strangers, in a way that God meant us to do, and that by example, Jesus instructed us to do. 


As I heard someone recently say, “There are no political parties, no ethnicity, no lower, middle, or upper class, no religion, creed, or sexual orientation under all the flood waters and beneath the debris -- just people.”  We are all stripped down to the raw and vulnerable, spiritual beings that He created. 


To quote a pastor I heard this week, “Stuff is just stuff. People matter most. Giving is a blessing. Life is Short.”  Now, it’s up to each of us to live as if we believe it.

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