25 Years after 9/11

This year, for the 25th anniversary of September 11, I did something I had never done before: I told the whole story of that morning out loud, on the radio, on The Drew Mariani Show. I want to begin with gratitude. To Drew, and to the entire team at Relevant Radio — thank you for letting me share this. They were gracious, professional, and kind from the first minute. Drew coached me right before we went live, and during the break we did a quick debrief, the way you would with someone you actually wanted to succeed. He even made room to mention the film I've written. I was grateful for that — but he understood, as I did, that this wasn't about the movie. It was about the day, and the people we lost, and the ones still carrying it. There is one moment I have to tell you about, because it was the truest part of the whole hour.

Before my segment, they played clips of the news coverage from that morning — the broadcasts, as they happened. I have never been able to sit with that footage. It's why I avoid the anniversary coverage most years, and why, when I do watch, it consumes me. I'm not in my chair anymore. I'm back there, in the cockpit, in that sky. So when I heard those clips begin to play, just ahead of my interview, I felt myself start to come apart. I could feel the focus slipping. And I did the only thing I've learned to do — I said a prayer. I asked for help. And once again, my guardian angel came through. The panic settled. I found my footing. And I was able to tell the story the way it deserved to be told. That, right there, is the whole thing. Twenty-five years later, the battle still follows me home. And twenty-five years later, grace still meets me in it. The healing was never my own strength. It was surrender — and it still is, even in a radio studio, even live, even now. I felt profoundly blessed to have the opportunity. To have lived to tell it, when so many didn't. To have a place to say the names, and to honor the ones who never came home, and the brothers and sisters still fighting battles no one can see. If you'd like to hear the conversation, it's here. My part begins around the 29-minute mark.

For the ones we lost, and the ones still carrying it.

Soli Deo Gloria.