By Bruce Boyer (Contributing Writer)
This past Friday was the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. It was not a cause for celebration, but a time of remembrance and recommitment.
Within minutes of American Airlines Flight 11 crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the entire nation huddled around TV sets – at work, at home, and everywhere. The tragedy occurred at 8:45 a.m. on what started out as an otherwise ordinary Tuesday morning. We collectively wondered how that pilot had made such an error. Eighteen minutes later, when United Airlines flight #175 crashed into the South Tower, we knew that an organized assault on the United States was underway. The immediate question in all our minds became, “How many more airplanes were aimed at United States targets?”
Air traffic controllers nationwide immediately began to signal aircraft to land as quickly as possible. Any pilot who did not respond to communications from air traffic controllers became a suspect. United Airlines Flight 93 was one of those. It had left Boston’s Logan Airport, bound for San Francisco, but had altered its course toward Washington, D.C. Onboard Flight 93, the entire flight crew had been killed. All that remained on the plane were the hijackers and a plane full of ordinary people.
Todd Beamer, a young salesman on a business trip, was one of the passengers. Todd was a man of faith and a loving family man to his wife, Lisa, two children at home, and one more on the way. He regularly attended Bible study classes and was a popular adult leader of youth groups at his church. He was everything you could hope for in a loving, caring human being. Todd Beamer organized a small group of passengers to surprise the terrorists and try to retake the aircraft. Todd used the Airfone on the seatback in front of him to reach GTE supervisor Lisa Jefferson. Todd told Ms. Jefferson about the hijacking, and together they recited the Lord’s Prayer. Todd then uttered the now-famous words, “Let’s Roll,” put the phone down with the line still open, and sprang into action. Their actions prevented the plane from reaching the hijackers’ target in the U.S. Capitol. Flight 93 crashed in an open Pennsylvania field, killing all aboard, but saving thousands of lives in the path ahead.
One of my favorite books is Lisa Beamer’s account of that day. “Let’s Roll” provides insight into what happened on the doomed flight through Todd’s phone call and his courageous actions. The Bible tells us that God can work something good from even the most evil situation. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
So how did God work something good out of a disaster that took the lives of approximately 3,000 people? The story continues well beyond that Pennsylvania field. Lisa Beamer found the confidence to go on in the face of tragedy and loss. Her book is a testimony to hope, inspiration, and strength. God was her source of strength then, and it continues today. Lisa viewed those who died on 9/11 to be not just victims, but ordinary people who touched the lives of many.
to Lisa Beamer, “Their lives are of eternal value to others.” The lesson in the book is much more than remembering those who perished; it is about sacrificial action. Todd Beamer and the other passengers courageously worked together to avoid a much bigger disaster in Washington, D.C. Through his actions, Todd taught an entire nation a Sunday School lesson that day. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
We all should do what we can for others with the time God gives us, even if it involves sacrifice. Live like there is no tomorrow. Without Todd’s heroic action, there would not have been a tomorrow for thousands of people. Every one of us will face tragedies during our lives. Tragedies test our faith, but they can also lead us to draw on God’s strength during and after a crisis. For Todd Beamer, it was God’s strength that sprang him into action and saved the lives of thousands in our nation’s capital.
Lisa Beamer wrote that her source of strength is the “strength of the Lord who is in charge of her life.” The book’s subtitle says: “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage.” Both Todd and Lisa are ordinary people who displayed extraordinary courage and faith. Their actions impacted an entire nation. That is what God’s strength can do for you, too.
Lisa commented that she has “no idea how people without faith can possibly make it through a crisis like this.” It is hard enough for people with deep faith to find peace in the face of disaster. People of faith:
• Draw their strength from the Lord.
• Are surrounded by positive-thinking friends who are willing to help
• Know where their loved one is headed if they don’t survive the crisis.
• Know that God will help them recover from the emptiness of such a loss.
On the other hand, people who don’t know the Lord don’t have the same hope for the future. Lisa Beamer closes her book with a familiar verse from Isaiah 40:30-31, which talks about the source of her strength: “Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”
In the face of tragedy and loss, know that with God’s help we can finish our journey well. Death is not the end, and Satan does not win. The back cover of the book reads: “It’s no wonder that, through this unpretentious homemaker and mother, an entire nation can: Find Hope. Find inspiration. Find strength. Let’s roll!”
Bruce Boyer lives in Kernersville and is the author of two devotional books and writes a weekly devotional email. A library of his stories is posted on https://christianfaithstories.org/.