Remembering What Matters

☕ Friday, September 11, 2026

Good morning, friends. ☕❤️

Where were you 25 years ago today?

It’s a question that comes up every September 11, and even though the years have passed, I can still remember exactly where I was. I was driving to work that morning when the people on the radio suddenly interrupted the broadcast and announced that one of the Twin Towers had been hit by an airplane. My heart sank. I continued on to work, not really knowing what was happening or what was about to happen. When I arrived, I found my boss in our conference room with the television on, watching the news.

Then the second tower was hit.

Not long afterward, the buildings began to fall, and the reality of what was happening became impossible to comprehend. So much happened that day, and there are still things about it that are difficult to put into words. Every year when September 11 comes around, my mind goes back to those moments, but it also goes to the families who lost someone that day and to the children who went home without a parent.

Twenty-five years later, there are people who have grown up knowing September 11 as something they learned about in history rather than something they remember experiencing. But for those of us who lived through it, it is one of those days that stays with you.

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I think about the people who went to work that morning expecting nothing more than an ordinary Tuesday. People who kissed their families goodbye, went to work, boarded airplanes, went about their routines, and had no idea that their lives were about to change forever.

And that is what makes days like today such a reminder of how quickly life can change.

Yesterday, I was at a ball field watching Garrett play. We were dealing with wins and losses, trying to figure out a new team and a new league, and talking about the things the boys need to work on. I was thinking about food and my health and how tired I was after another restless night. I was thinking about missing church and realizing that I need to make more room for God in my everyday life.

Those are the things that fill our days.

Work.

Family.

Baseball.

Food.

Bills.

Schedules.

Responsibilities.

And then a day like September 11 comes around and reminds us that life is much bigger than the things we spend so much time worrying about.

That doesn’t mean those everyday things don’t matter. They do. Our families matter. Our health matters. Our jobs matter. The things God has placed in our hands matter. But sometimes we need a reminder to put those things into perspective and remember that none of us knows what tomorrow will bring.

That’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to control things I can’t control. I’ve worried about my health, my food, my weight, my job, my family, my business, and all the things I think I need to have figured out. I’ve tried to plan everything and prepare for everything because somehow I convince myself that if I can just stay ahead of things, I’ll be okay.

But I can’t control everything.

I never have been able to.

And I never will.

That’s where my faith comes in.

I’ve been talking a lot lately about letting go and letting God, and I think days like today make that idea even more meaningful. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. We don’t know what unexpected phone call might come, what diagnosis might change our plans, what opportunity might appear, or what ordinary morning might turn into something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. But God knows.

That doesn’t mean we understand everything that happens. It doesn’t mean we don’t grieve, question, or struggle. It doesn’t mean difficult things suddenly become easy because we have faith. It simply means that when I don’t know what tomorrow holds, I can still know who holds tomorrow.

And that brings me back to something else I’ve been learning this week.

I need God every day.

Not just when I’m at church. Not just when things are difficult. Not just when I need an answer. I need Him in the ordinary parts of my life, too.

I need Him while I’m driving to work. I need Him while I’m sitting at the ball field. I need Him while I’m making dinner, working on my business, worrying about my health, or trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do next.

Because the ordinary moments are really where most of our lives happen.

September 11 reminds me not to take those ordinary moments for granted.

I’m thankful for the people I get to come home to. I’m thankful for my family and for the opportunity to watch my boys grow up. I’m thankful for the simple things, like sitting around with family, going to a baseball game, working on my little business, making food in my kitchen, or having a cup of coffee while I sit down and talk through whatever is on my mind.

Those things may seem ordinary, but they are gifts.

And I think sometimes we don’t realize how precious ordinary is until something happens that makes us wish we could go back to an ordinary day.

Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God.”

That’s a verse I’ve needed many times, and I think it is especially meaningful on a day when so many of us remember fear, uncertainty, and loss.

Twenty-five years later, I still think about the families who lost someone. I still think about the children who grew up without their parents. I still think about the people who ran toward danger to help others and the people who simply went to work that morning and never came home.

And I hope we never forget them.

I also hope we never forget what happened in the days immediately afterward, when people seemed to look at each other differently. We came together. We helped one another. We cared about our neighbors. We stood together as Americans, and for a little while, many of the things that normally divided us didn’t seem nearly as important.

I would love to see more of that again.

Not because we all have to agree on everything. We don’t. We never have, and we probably never will. But I think we can remember that the person standing next to us is still a person worth caring about, even when we don’t see the world exactly the same way.

For me, today isn’t about pretending that everything is perfect. It’s about remembering. It’s about being thankful for the ordinary days I still get to live. It’s about loving my family while I have the opportunity. It’s about appreciating the people God has placed in my life and being intentional about the time I have with them.

And most importantly, it’s about remembering that God is still God in the middle of all of it.

• He was there on September 11, 2001.

• He’s here today.

• And He will be there tomorrow, whatever tomorrow brings.

So as you go through your day today, take a moment to remember where you were 25 years ago. Think about the people you knew then, the people who are still here, and the people you wish were still here. Then look around at the life you have today and recognize the ordinary blessings that might not feel so ordinary when you stop long enough to really see them.

And maybe ask yourself this morning: What is one ordinary blessing in your life today that you never want to take for granted?

I’m going to try to remember mine.

Until tomorrow…

Keep your coffee warm, your Bible close, and your eyes open for the blessings God places in your path today. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow—with another cup of coffee and another conversation.

❤️ Mandy

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