New friend, New Hero

Yesterday I met a new friend. We only had conversation for a total time of 35 minutes, but in that small amount of minutes and seconds, she has changed my outlook on life. She came to the volleyball game and found herself, not having had the time to get to an ATM, without the means to enter. She had never been to the gym we use and didn't realize those necessities were not available. My husband, the fixer, noticed that she was sitting outside and went to question. She told him her plight and he fixed it. They began to converse. I arrived late, and came to greet him. He introduced me, said, "Listen to her story" and went inside.

And I listened in silence. She is a teacher. She was in her elementary classroom on that tragic 9/11 in New York City, one and a half blocks from the Twin Towers. She began telling me what it was like to hear the initial explosion. The building rocked, windows were blown, children and adults were terrorized.  The horror, the smell and the sounds, parents who worked all over the city arriving in 20 minutes screaming for their children while the world outside their classroom was marked and changed forever.  Even 11 years later she was overcome with emotion as she talked and graciously answered my "20 questions". I was struck with the fear, and yet such resolve in her words. She gave God all the credit for her escape that day. She, herself, had to wait until all the children were with their families, then tried her best to get to hers. 

Her memories and recollections are forever etched in my mind. I can't get over some things she told me. As she talked, I realized that in a very real way this was an actual hero of one of the most horrific days our nation has ever experienced, watched and read about.  And I was honored to be in her presence. Her sense of God on that day was what got her through.

Now, she is a teacher.  Now, she still has some fear. Her family moved out of the city very soon after that.  She told me she still hasn't been able to bring herself to go back and visit the memorial site. She would like to...just hasn't yet. It's still so real.  She says that every morning when her students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance that you can bet they are standing straight and tall and honoring this great country. She has no patience with anyone that downplays and degrades our military, police officers and firemen. You see, she saw them in action, coming to get her. As the ash blew down the streets like a wave of smoke, she watched them go into the towers, and she watched them picking up the wounded on the streets. She was a first hand witness to the greatness of what our country stands for...and she doesn't tolerate criticism of them.  She is still so overcome when Memorial Day, Veterans Day and the 9/11 Anniversary comes around that she "falls apart"..as she says.


From my new friends testimony and life story I have learned and been reminded of this:

*God is in control in the chaos of our lives.
*Even on the darkest of days, we can praise Him.
*Even when we don't feel like it or don't want to, we can praise Him.
*Our Heavenly Father can make something precious from devastation.
*God wins, every time.


With the election coming up, I was reminded of this verse:

Let every individual be obedient to those who rule over him; for no one is a ruler except by God's permission, and our present rulers have had their rank and power assigned to them by Him.

Romans 13:1


We don't need to get ourselves worked up about what is going to happen. God already knows. In fact, He has ordained it. Are we willing to suffer through whatever it takes to bring revival to our land? God is to be praised in every moment, good and bad in our lives. That's how we show Him to our world. He is worthy. He is worthy. He is worthy.

Sitting on a bench outside, a true hero of the faith reminded me that God is worth everything we go through. We are here to make Him known.

It's His story, not ours.