We were living in Waco. I was a grad student at Baylor. Husband was in school as well. I had an early class. I was dressed and ready and eating a bowl of cereal. I can remember what I wearing. A pink button down that I found on the clearance rack at Gap and a pair of Gap denim leggings.
I was pregnant. With my sweet homerun kid. Only about 8 weeks. We had just spent the weekend explaining to my parents that we were expecting...and we were getting married. In that order. And while my mom was shocked, she was also wonderful and forgiving and moved on from the shock part pretty quickly.
My dad, on the other hand, did not. He was angry. And hurt. And disappointed. And perhaps in denial.
And he didn't really speak to me most of the weekend after we told them September 7.
I watched as the first tower fell and then got in the car to go to class, not believing what I had seen...
I parked. I sat in the classroom of the Castellaw Communications Building at BU. And not 10 minutes into class we were all told to go home. I walked to the Bill Daniel Student Center where I saw hundreds of students crowded around the TVs in the Sub to see the second tower hit and fall.
I left to go home. Not really knowing what to do or how to feel or think. I knew to pray. And I did. I'm not even sure what I prayed for, but I know that the gravity of the events of the morning made me truly terrified to bring a baby into THIS world.
When I got home I told my rockstar husband (fiancee' at the time) what had happened. He hadn't seen it yet.
We had plans to meet my sister and her husband passing through from Houston for lunch that day. When we met up with them, they had heard nothing about it. They had been in the car all morning and didn't know it had happened.
We were all so shocked. And on edge.
I remember calling my dad to tell him I loved him, no matter what. I wanted to be sure he knew that. Always. And of course, my mom too...but I really felt like she knew that anyway.
Oh America, I love you. I am incredibly blessed to live in this country where I enjoy so many freedoms.
Oh God, you are so good to me. To cover my sin. To forgive me. To allow me the precious gift of freedom - not just in America, but in living obedient to you. Yes, there is freedom in obedience.
We have come a long way from September 11, 2001. I pray that we will never be so far from it that we forget how horrific and awful and terrible it was. I pray that we will always remember. And it's likely that I will always remember...
Less than a month later husband and I were married...and making plans for our sweet baby to arrive six months later.
And he did...and he is so precious to us. And yes, this world is a scary place, but God is so much greater than all the frightening things of this world.
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