Memories of 9/11—A Military Family Remembers

Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights.

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. — Psalm 77:11,12

I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. — Psalm 89:1,2

The Bible encourages us to remember—experiences, dates, trials, lessons, relationships, etc. Why? To be reminded of God’s faithfulness. By looking back at significant times in our lives and seeing God’s hand at work, we have the confidence to face each day’s demands—and look forward to future challenges.

Because of this biblical admonition, I keep a unique journal. Each page in my binder represents a day of the year . . . and since 1998 I have recorded a brief 3-5 sentence summary—a verbal “souvenir” of sorts—with what I was thinking about or doing that particular day. Having that record allows me to begin each day with time dedicated to reading what God has done. If certain memories involve my adult children, I let them know with a simple, “Do you know what happened this day back in 2005?” There is always something with which I can encourage them—and I thank God for that.

There are certain days none of us will ever forget—and September 11, 2001, is one of them. “Where were you on 9/11?” is a question which never fails to engage another in conversation. Sara Horn, founder of Wives of Faith and author of the military favorites A Greater Freedom, God Strong and Tour of Duty, along with her more recent My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife, My So-Called Life as a Submissive Wife, and How Can I Possibly Forgive? last month took the opportunity to think back to 9/11 and write a poignant message to her 13-year-old son, Caleb. The thirteen year time-span which she recalls allows her to include lessons learned during her husband’s three 10-month deployments.

So I include her very personal writing to encourage all of us to take time to remember. I believe it will be quite inspirational for those of you who have children—and who wonder how others teach their children about deployment memories.

The posting on her blog is entitled “13 years After 9/11, a note to my 13-year-old son.” With her permission, I ask you all to read it, think back, and thank God for His faithfulness.

13 years after 9/11, a note to my 13-year-old son

Questions to Share:

1. Which of Sara’s “You don’t knows” can you relate to? Why?

2. Which of Sara’s “You knows” can you relate to? Why?

Related Posts

Plan G (for God)

I think I’m like a lot of military professionals in that I pride myself in being able to make a good plan. After all, I’ve had over 20 years of training and practice in making plan after plan and having them tested, refined, tested again, criticized, tested again, refined and the final test of all, executed. We in the military should be good at making plans, and not just one plan either. We have Plan A, Plan B and Plan C, each of which have branches (contingency plans) and sequels (follow on plans) – all designed to ensure that when we set out to achieve our mission, our execution is robust and effective. The success of our plans in achieving a mission is where the rubber hits the road in the military. It can accelerate or decelerate our careers. It can lead to honor or to shame. Plans are pretty important, and I haven’t restricted my planning only to what I do in the military.

A Tribute to Her (Navy) Father

As a little girl when I spoke of my father as being “at sea,” I really had no notion of the dangers he faced—he had helped teach my sisters and me how to swim, and for all I knew that’s what they did out “at sea,” diving off the deck and swimming with dolphins. The water, as I knew it then, was all glee and shimmer and launching off of his shoulders in the deep end. It was not until later that I began to appreciate the grisly possibilities associated with his seafaring deployments.

Danger—Infatuation!

I pay attention when I run across stories about platonic friendships which turn into inappropriate relationships. It’s so common  . . . especially in these days of deployments. Loneliness can become the excuse for “hanging out” with someone of the opposite sex you thought was “safe.” Stressful marital situations can become the excuse for asking a fellow worker of the opposite sex an innocent question like “I’m going through a tough time in my marriage—help me understand my spouse better.” Uncertainty about your future can become the excuse for throwing caution to the wind with an attitude of “What the heck—all I’ve got is today and no one has to know.” But it’s the timing of it all, and what might cause us to turn our back on a flirtation at a less stressful point might lead to the desire for more at another point.

Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back To Top