“I Have Overcome the World” John 16:33
September 11, 2021 was the 20th anniversary of 9/11. There were countless tributes to that day, and rightly so. We all can remember where we were when we got the news of the tragic events that unfolded that day.
My husband and I watched a documentary about the last phone calls made from the Twin Towers on that horrific day. People trapped in the high-rise buildings or in planes made their last calls to loved ones. Some left messages while others were able to talk to say their last goodbyes.
Jim Gartenberg was clearing out his desk on the 86th floor after accepting a new job. Among other calls, he called his wife Jill, and conveyed how much he loved her, and their two-year-old daughter, Nicole.
Melissa Harrington Hughes lived in California but was in New York for only one day. She called her husband and left this message: “I just wanted to let you know I love you and I’m stuck in this building in New York. There’s lots of smoke and I just wanted you to know that I love you always.” Then, Melissa called her dad, they said I love you’s to each other, and Melissa asked her dad to call her husband because she couldn’t reach him.
Bryan Sweeney a former Navy pilot called his wife, Julie. He left this message on their answering machine: “Jules, this is Brian. Listen, I’m on an airplane that’s been hijacked. If things don’t go well, and it’s not looking good. I just want you to know I absolutely love you. I want you to do good, go have good times. Same to my parents and everybody, and I just totally love you, and I’ll see you when you get there.”
If today was your last day here on earth, who would you call?
What would you say?
Sometimes we get an opportunity to say our last goodbyes but sometimes we don’t.
Perhaps we can take every opportunity possible to let those we love know how much we love them?
Maybe today?
For me, I tell my husband I love him often…often. Sometimes I think he may tire of hearing it. I don’t know. Maybe not.
I tell my kids and my parents and my big brother I love them when we get off the phone. And in person too.
But my grandkids—oh my grandkids—I squeeze and kiss and blurt out, almost uncontrollably, how much I love them. Maybe because I know I will most likely have less time with their little lives than the others. It almost feels urgent to squeeze all the love I have out. If you’re a grandparent, you know exactly.
What happened on September 11th 2001 was horribly tragic, especially for those who lost loved ones.
Perhaps it can be a message to us to live and to live fully, and to love and to love fully…
to squeeze all our love out.
And to always find a way to have peace in whatever God brings us.
“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
– John 16:33
For more from Lucille Williams check out her books The Impossible Kid: Parenting a Strong-Willed Child with Love and Grace, and for your marriage, From Me to We, and The Intimacy You Crave. We invite you to subscribe to LuSays today for weekly encouragement.
