A day of remembrance on 9/11

posted on: Monday September 12, 2011

I will not forget this day in history for the remainder of my life.  All of us who were old enough to understand the images on the television can remember where we were when we first saw the horror of that day of 9 11.  I remember being in a patient’s room in the McNairy County hospital in Selmer, Tennessee, when I saw the image of the north tower in flames on the television.  There was a feeling of helplessness that overcame me.  There was nothing that I could do for the things that were unfolding before my eyes; my country was under attack.  What I quickly concluded, though, was that I could  take care of what was immediately before me.  My responsibility was to take care of my patients, focus on my community, and pray to God above that He would see us through.  Today, as I remember the events that unfolded 10 years ago, I want to encourage my readers to remember the good fortune that we have to live in a country that offers so much freedom and to commit to taking care of responsibilities that are immediately before you, focus on community, and never forget that we need God.   Our health as a people and as a nation is dependant upon our acceptance of personal responsibility.  We have great examples of heroes in NYC, PA, and Washington D.C. who on that fateful day of 9 11 remembered what their duty was.  It is these examples that we are to look to so that we may remember what blessings we have to live amongst a nation of people who are healthy because of self-sacrifice and an acknowledgement of God and country above self.  It is this resolve that will carry us through future trials whether it be from a personal struggle or a national tragedy.  It is this determination as a nation that we will overcome our enemy.  It is a faith in God that will grant us victory.