Through A Child's Eyes

Anyone old enough to remember back several years knows where they were on September 11, 2001. My memories of that day, when I was 15, are certainly still crystal-clear.

But although we could go on for hours about what we remember, how we felt, and what we think should be done, how can you sum something so huge up in just one simple statement?

Well, I can't do it, but a 3-year-old could.

A year after 9/11, my high school - which was across the street from the Fairfax County Search & Rescue training center - had a ceremony on the first anniversary. Of all the places in the country that the Fairfax rescuers were invited, they came to our school that morning. So the whole school all wore American colors, we talked about it all day, went to the ceremony, you could tell it wasn't just a regular school day.

That year, one of my classes was a Childhood Development class. For that class, you spent the hour in the nursery where the children of the teachers were cared for during the day. And I was working with a little 3-year-old boy, who started talking and in the end gave me the answer to the question EVERYONE was asking: WHY did 9/11 have to happen?

"So whatcha doing over there?"

"Oh, just talking to Jesus."

"Really? Want to tell me what you're talking about?"

"We're talking about the year ago."

"You mean what happened a year ago?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. You alright?"

::Nods head::

I began to turn away. Then, out of the blue:

"I know why they put the planes in the buildings."

I froze. Slowly I turned my head back to him... I wanted to keep moving away, but to be honest, I wanted to hear ANY explanation that could answer that "why?" question, even if it came from a toddler.

"And why is that, sweetie?"

"Because some men don't love Jesus."

This kid, who wasn't even in pre-school yet, gave me the answer I'd been searching for the entire year, the answer to the question EVERYONE has asked at some point. And although he had no understanding of the reasons the terrorists hijacked those planes, even though he had no way of knowing it truly WAS because they didn't love Jesus, he got it right.

A toddler answered the question that had driven me crazy for an entire year.

In the Bible, Jesus talks about the faith of children. We are reminded to have that kind of faith. I'll be the first to admit that on 9/11, my faith was damaged to some extent. I couldn't understand WHY He would allow so much suffering. But God used this little kid to remind me that when a person doesn't love Jesus, they will not ACT like they love Jesus. And as Jesus is good, anything opposite to Him is bad. So when you have Muslim terrorists - who don't love Jesus by definition of being Muslim - of course they won't do what you want them to.

(And NO, I do NOT think ALL Muslims are terrorists. Some of my closest friends are Muslims, and they were just as hurt by 9/11 as I was. Bad people come from all faiths, even Christianity - or what they claim is Christianity. So before you go off on me about religious profiling, keep that in mind, you'll be preaching to the choir.)

I remember that day so well. Eventually the entire high school - about 100 students - was moved into one room, where we had a TV on. I was on the floor, leaning against a wall, sobbing. My Mom was working next to the Pentagon. I assumed that for a plane to have exploded, nearby buildings would've been damaged, and didn't know if it had hit any buildings on the way down. Also, the local media reported car bombs ALL OVER D.C. so we thought half our city was up in smoke!

Every 5 minutes or so, the intercom came on, and a list of names was read off. Those students were to go to the office because someone was there to pick them up. I was praying - BEGGING God - for my & my sister's names to be read every time I heard the click come on. In the meantime, I walked down to the middle school 2 floors below, walked into my sister's classroom, and pulled her out of class. I am THE most submissive person EVER... never got a detention, never punished in any way at school, the ideal student as far as behavior. But I TOTALLY ignored people telling me to stop that day. The world was ending, screw rules was my way of thinking! I took my little sister upstairs to the high school floor, and eventually she went back downstairs once we were fairly sure that we'd be safe in the building.

Eventually, I couldn't handle being near that TV any longer. Again ignoring the teachers' instructions, I walked out of the room and sat in the hallway. They couldn't force me to watch that anymore when it could be reports about the deaths of my parents! So I sat in that hallway, cried, and BEGGED the Lord for my parents to come for us.

Finally, just before lunchtime, my name was on that list. I ran into the classroom I'd stormed out of, grabbed my backpack, and FLEW down the stairs, probably taking about 5 at a time. On the way down, I prayed that it would be my Mom there to get us, because she was the one in the most danger. And when I opened that door and saw her, I lost it.

I mean, sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe.

She works for Arlington County law enforcement, and contrary to popular belief, the Pentagon is in Arlington, Virginia - NOT D.C. - so I knew she'd be involved in the efforts at the Pentagon. Because she had two children, she was allowed the rest of that day off, because they knew they'd need her for awhile. For the next week, we saw her VERY rarely, only at night if we could stay awake long enough for her to get home. Even though ALL schools were closed the following day, she had to go help.

The ONE - the ONLY - good thing I remember is that all the donations people were giving ended up at our house! :-) People gave so much that there was TOO much. So all those amazing restaurants that donated food, meals were sent home with the people like my Mom. Which, technically, WAS helping in the effort because like in my Mom's case, she had a family to feed but couldn't because she was at the Pentagon Command Center... so they let her bring food to us after everyone there had their meals. We got food for a few weeks... it was very yummy. :-)

Anyway, just wanted to share this and remind people that things aren't ALWAYS as complicated as they seem, as we make them out to be. We make things far too confusing. Next time you don't understand, ask a kid. Or try to think like one. Things may make a lot more sense.