Reflections on 9/11

In that moment, it was real.

I was running through the terrors of 9/11 in my head. Not because I wanted to, but because I was at my summer internship in a Manhattan high-rise and we were undergoing a safety drill.

“I bet those in the World Trade Center went through tons of drills just like this,” I thought. “They probably paid halfhearted attention, just following protocol and thinking they would never actually need to use the knowledge. “

But in that moment, in the midst of our drill, 9/11 was no longer some unfortunate mishap I watched on the news when I was in grade school. It wasn’t a distant tragedy with unfamiliar people. It was right in front of me. It was my coworkers. It was me.

Realizing how easily it could have been any building with any people on any regular day really puts the event into perspective for me.

This year, I’m remembering not only the American lives lost that day, but also the American spirit recovered. Americans from all corners of the country cried together, grieved together and then banded together to fight against the evils of terrorism. To remind family how much they were loved. To recognize the sanctity of life.

I now see 9/11 this way: Something that Satan intended for destruction, God used for good.

And, to me, that is something worth reflecting on and celebrating.