What do you remember?

Twisted metal from the World Trade Center

I sit here on 9.11 and images flash through my brain, like a slideshow of horror. Watching the second plane fly into the World Trade Center. Images of people running, covered in ash. The big, billowy dust cloud covering New York City. The people falling headfirst out of buildings. That last image will haunt me forever. Forever. 

As the days unfolded, we learned more and more about the agony of those trapped. We heard about the heroes. We watched as our nation grappled with lost innocence. We were invincible. Our country was safe from terrorism. No one would be so bold as to attack us on our soil. 

And then we weren’t invincible or safe. Terrorism came knocking in a big and bold way. 

I continually think about the solidarity we felt as a country in the days and weeks that followed. We were proud to be Americans. We weren’t divided. We were one. 

The last several years have been particularly hard on our country. We are divided. We are antagonistic. We pick a side and are against anyone who is on the other side. The media, political figures and social media fan the flames. I lived in Charlottesville when white supremists marched on my streets and in front of my church. I saw hate firsthand. How did we get from there to here? How do we find unity and peace again? 

I don’t have answers. I just know that love is the only true path and we must extend it to everyone no matter their race, creed, gender, who they love or which political party they are a part of. Love is the only way forward.