Waking Up on 9/11
The loud roar of an airplane interrupted my thoughts as I walked down Madison Avenue. I glanced up into the tranquil blue sky above, but surrounded by the tall buildings, I couldn't locate the plane. My heart pounding, I ran for cover, sprinting down the sidewalk and ducking under the awning of a nearby office building. I hugged the concrete wall as the jet screamed overhead, and slowly faded away to the west. I realized I was shaking. Cautiously, I stepped back out onto the sidewalk, and looked up. No sign of the plane, only a wisp of a white tail in its wake. Relief flooded through me.
It's been over a month since the attacks; I can't keep freaking out every time a plane flies overhead. Get yourself together, Christina! That was probably a military jet monitoring the airspace over Manhattan.
I sheepishly resumed my walk through midtown, toward the offices of Redeemer Presbyterian. My feet felt heavy and slow. I began regretting my mission.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Christina Ray Stanton was the director of Missions at Redeemer Presbyterian Church for a decade, and her husband Brian is Redeemer’s long-time CFO. A professional speaker and award winning author (www.christinaraystanton.com), she is also a licensed NYC tour guide who specializes in 9/11 history. Christina and Brian are the founders of the non-profit Loving All Nations (www.lovingallnations.org).
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on America from the online archives
more from the online archives

14.6—July/August 2001
The Transformed Relics of the Fall
on the Fulfillment of History in Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor