Our recent family visit to the 9/11 Museum & Memorial in NYC brought back a flood of memories from that fateful day when I realized what matters most to me. I hope you’ll read more ...

Before leaving this solemn site, we each donated to the 9/11 Museum & Memorial and are wearing the bracelets we were given. I love this photo of three generations of hands resting on the stone of the Reflection Pool. For all my loved ones, I pray we will in our own time and unique ways realize that FAITH, FAMILY, and the larger world COMMUNITY in which God has placed us really matter.

September 11, 2001. A day etched indelibly in my memory. A day that revealed to me what matters most.

While visiting the 9/11 Museum with my husband, daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids a few weeks ago on July 3rd, I also revisited that “Moment in Time.”

Like it was yesterday, I watched the CNN announcer as I entered the passenger boarding bridge at Spokane International Airport on my way to a meeting in Seattle just as the second World Trade Center tower exploded.

An hour or so later, the captain announced airspace throughout the country was shut down. In a haze of unknowing, we disembarked the plane. I gathered my luggage from the carousel and my car from the parking garage. I was driving toward my office in Spokane when I heard the news of additional crashes into the Pentagon and on a field in Pennsylvania. I drove right past the office freeway exit, and instead, headed toward home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

My day had begun earlier than usual on that beautiful late summer morning, and by the time I went to bed at the conclusion of the historic September 11th night, I had defined beyond a shadow of doubt what mattered most to me.

First and foremost, FAITH intertwined with FAMILY mattered. For almost ten years, I had made the hour-long commute from our home in Coeur d’Alene to my office on Spokane’s north side, and each workday morning, I used that time to pray. All the way to the airport, I prayed as usual for each daughter, son-in-law, and at that time, three grandkids. I also prayed for myself and the multiple roles I attempted to juggle. My prayers branched out to extended family and friends, our local community, the nation, and the world.

Without question that September morning, it was far more important to be with FAMILY than to return to work. The embrace of my husband’s strong arms felt safe, and I was relieved those I love most were not in immediate danger.

Then, I felt ready to ask, “Now what?”

A disaster of the magnitude of 9/11 overwhelms every sense. While feeling helpless, I knew I wanted to do something that day for the greater good. The larger COMMUNITY in which God had placed me mattered. After the initial shock and adrenaline rush subsided, I felt an urge to pray with others who believed in the power and privilege of prayer. We learned about a community-wide prayer gathering at a downtown park and joined with friends and neighbors to humble ourselves and seek God on behalf of victims and our beloved nation.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to donate blood. The wait was long because obviously, I wasn’t the only citizen who wanted to reach beyond self and serve. For five hours, I waited at the local blood bank. The camaraderie was palpable. No one complained. Instead, we visited with one another. The local Olive Garden donated trays of take-out, and we ate together. When our name was finally called, we gladly shared our own life blood before returning to the familiar comfort of home.

If we were able, and perhaps one day we will be, I’d love to hear one of your “Moment in Time” stories. For now, I hope you’ll enjoy the photos and brief descriptions of our family visit to the 9/11 Museum & Memorial.

This work of art by Spencer Finch in the 9/11 Museum & Memorial, “Trying to Remember the Color of the Sky,” reveals the difference between people’s perspectives of the same horrific event. Our two grandkids who were with us on July 3, 2025, had not yet been born, and their view of 9/11 will differ dramatically from those who lived through that infamous day.

Prominently exhibited is the "Last Column," which was the last major structural beam removed, symbolizing the end of the Twin Towers recovery and cleanup efforts.

Today, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, including two reflecting pools on which the name of each person who perished on 9/11 is etched, occupy the space of the original Twin Towers. Isaiah 61:3 speaks of God’s promise to bring “beauty from ashes.” From 9/11 ashes, World Trade Center towers have been rebuilt, different but beautiful and stronger than ever.

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