Just like everyone reading this post, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news that a plane had flown through the first tower of the World Trade Center. I was driving to work, just ten days before our first child was due to enter this world. I remember thinking, “What kind of world are we bringing this child into?”

Thanks to the courage of President Bush, who responded with an all-out war on terror, and the many brave men and women in our military, the world has been relatively safe for that child and the two who came later.

Naturally, given their ages, I haven’t shared much about 9/11 with them. That burden isn’t theirs to bear…yet. Today, however, I did pause before we began the homeschool day, taking a moment to remember the people who lost their lives that day.

We talked about the rescue workers who rushed in to save others, and in doing so gave their lives so that others could live. There are people walking around New York City today who owe the breath that they breathe to those brave souls.

We talked about Flight 93 and the men and women who sacrificed everything, driving the plane to their certain deaths, to protect others. Daddies and mommies left their homes, and in a moment of courage, they made the decision never to return so that other children could put their arms around their parents’ necks that night.

And let’s not forget the soldiers who have bravely fought on foreign soil in the years since that day so that I can travel this country in relative safety. They are giving their lives in other countries, successfully keeping the threat of another attack at bay.

As I go through this day, I can’t get the song Remembrance from Matt Maher’s Alive Again album out of my mind. I realize that he was writing about Christian communion, but I think the sentiment applies to all those fallen heroes, too.

We have not forgotten. We remember you.