My personal 9/11 experience was a life-changing moment for me as was the event of 9/11 for the USA as a nation along with many individuals around the world.  In my case, I had started working after being the first graduate from a brand new field called Computational Science with honors in May 2001 and life was fantastic.

I was on top of the world and loving every moment.  That morning of September 11, 2001 started as any other day.  I walked into the lunch room at the company I used to work for to get some tea and what I saw on TV looked like scenes from a movie.  I was so in shock that I decided to go home for lunch and my mind was working overtime.

I could not believe the images on the screen because they epitomized a life shattered in a split second at best.  How does someone wake up from this nightmare?  I guess we do because not too long after the incident, life went on as usual and so I thought. Little did I know that I was about to experience my own personal 9-11 experience.

Life was great up to that point and I could have never imagined that all would come crashing in a twinkling of an eye.  My disbelief led to denial and my denial led to despair.  I had nothing to land on because I was broke and broken.  I had to surrender my “Wonder Woman” cape because I could no longer fake the pain and hurt that through this personal 9-11 experience.  

My personal 9/11 experience and low point of my life came into mind when I attended a Women’s Conference at our church a few years ago.  That year’s theme was titled Breathe.  It was interesting to hear that even though most of us know the importance of breathing, very few of us understand the effects that breathing has on every single aspect of our life.

Poor breathing habits can cause major stress to our body, resulting in oxygen depletion and energy shortage.  Breathing right increases energy, improves health and brings a sense of wholeness to the mind, body and spirit.  The proper way to breathe right is to breathe relaxed, in rhythms and in upright posture.

That was my problem during my personal 9/11 experience.  I had forgotten to breathe properly in every area of my life.  Everything about my life was fast-paced, out of order and I was becoming uptight.  I listened at a conference I attended to similar stories of poor breathing and living habits and what we all realize is that it does catch up with you.

My personal 9/11 experience caught up with me in a major way and I felt like I was blindsided by all of it but again I became unaware of all the signs leading up to that life-changing moment.  When all came crashing down, I felt like everything in me and around me crashed along with it.  When you are hit hard and you hit rock bottom, you have to look up from that very low state of your life.

When I looked up, I was reminded of the sacrifice of my single mother who did the best she could before sending me to the USA so that I can have a future where all things are possible if only you believe and work at it.  I was somehow reminded of the God she used to talk to me about and wondered if He cared at all about a broke and broken vessel like me.  

I was also reminded of the stories of countless men and women before me who risked their lives so that their pain and sufferings would count for something.  I was finally reminded why I left my sweet home of Cote D’Ivoire in West Africa to come to the USA, the land of the free and home of the brave to be all I could be.  

I was at a decisive crossroad during my personal 9/11 experience and the choice was all mine.  I could pack my bags and return home to Cote D’Ivoire but I knew very well it was the easy way out.  

I needed to face some demons because unaware, I had become my own god and gotten in over my head.  I chose to stay in the US and went on to self-examine every area of my life.  I had to take a hard look at the state of my soul and didn’t like what I saw.  I fell like a walking dead and I knew that I needed God to breathe life and restore all the areas in my life that were in life support.

Many years after that personal 9/11 experience, I am thankful that God not only turned everything around for my good but He gave me more than I could ever think or imagine.  Today, I can say with a thankful and humble heart that if it wasn’t for my personal 9/11 experience I would definitely not be the wife, mother, and entrepreneur I am today.

Sometimes, God is able to create beauty from ashes and I am proof of that.  I am now learning to breathe right and take time to enjoy a WELLthy Mom lifestyle in mind, body and spirit.  I make an effort to be aware of various signs in my mind, body and spirit and correct as soon as I am able to.  I only have one life to live and I am doing my best to be an excellent steward of that gift of life to myself, to Hubby, to my children, to my friends and to others.