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PROUD to be an AMERICAN and PROUD of AMERICA!
#121 - 0--spud--PROUD to be an AMERICAN and PROUD of AMERICA!--2008-09-16 08:27:11
#To all of you who lost family members, friends, co-works and
children on September 11, 2001, my thoughts and prayers go out to you
today. As I sat down to ponder what happened seven years ago, I was
suddenly overcome with emotion. While I cannot even begin to truly
understand what it must have felt like to have lost someone during the
September 11th attacks, I am better able to understand that pain today
then I was in 2001.
You
see, last year I stood by a very close friend for six weeks as he was
dying. It was one of the most difficult and painful periods of my
life. Today, even though I know he is in heaven, every year when June
13th rolls around, grief still creeps in. I am flooded with all the
wonderful memories I had with him and his wife during the 11 years I
was blessed to call him my friend but I am also flooded with the
memories of his protracted death.
In memory of all those
we lost on September 11th, I wanted to post "My Commentary" which I
wrote thirty days after we were attacked. I don't ever want to forget
the brave Americans who gave their lives in the three planes that went
down, nor those who stepped up and helped their fellow Americans in a
time of desperate need. It is one of many days that I was proud of
America. She truly is the most incredible place in the world.
My CommentaryI
stood stunned, numb and shocked with the rest of the world, watching
the events of September 11 unfold before me. On the long drive home,
my mind was struggling to grasp what I had just seen and heard. My
heart broke with the realization that many of my brothers and sisters
in New York were suddenly and violently ripped from among us. My eyes
surrendered to the torrent of emotion that erupted like a tornado from
within.
I aggressively listened to the new in hopes of hearing
"something" that would lesson the sadness and grief that suddenly
threatened to engulf me. As I entered my house and sat down, life was
suddenly surreal.
What once was my reality, had in an instant,
radically changed. The imaginary boundary line of protection that no
one had ever crossed had suddenly been penetrated. I physically felt
the violation as if someone had reached out and touched me. It
penetrated to the very core of my being. I struggled to regain my
balance only to crumble to my knees, anguish spilling forth. Deep,
very deep down, I knew that the lenses I viewed my life through were a
thing of the past. Today, I had been given new lenses in which to view
the world through.
It is now 30 days later. I have determinedly
struggled to regain my balance as I have looked for ways to embrace
today...and tomorrow. I have discovered that when I pour myself out
and help others - whether they are in New York or are my neighbors here
in Oklahoma - that I can sense a new strength birthing within me.
No
longer is my focus about second-guessing my Commander-in-Chief or those
carrying the weighty burden of leading this country through this
horrific ordeal. Instead, I find myself looking for ways to help
others help themselves. A servant heart is blossoming within me and I
am propelled forward each day with a new determination to affect
positive changes in the people I come in contact with.
No longer
do I move about my day with lenses of "me-ism." No longer do I focus
on what others should or should not be doing. My priorities have been
forcibly reshuffled, carrying me along new paths.
Today, I chose
to live my life in a way that will nullify the enemies purpose to shove
me into a corner, frightened of my own shadow. Today, I choose to
retaliate terrorism with my faith in a God who is my avenger. Today, I
choose to retaliate the Taliban with prayer. Today, I choose to
retaliate evil with compassion, comfort and understanding for all my
brothers and sisters, of all nations. Today, I choose to stand and
emulate the virtues and qualities that this great nation was built on.
Today,
I will stand and be an American. Tomorrow, I will stand and be an
American. I have chosen not to give the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, or
anyone else the power to make me cower. Today, I have chosen to rise
above the evil that poured out on this great nation. Today, I will
sour with the eagle, confident and yet, aware. Today, I will stand
with my head high, PROUD TO BE AND AMERICAN, and PROUD OF AMERICA!
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