… We must place our ultimate identity not in who we are, but in who we know God to be. ![]() That’s the final lesson, she told the students in the chapel: “If God is bigger than we can imagine, we are wasting our time to chase after something or someone lesser. In the end, Beamer said it was crucial to strengthen her “core identity,” focusing on her faith and trust in “God’s goodness and his greatness.” She was convinced that, facing the crisis aboard Flight 93, her husband had managed to do that. My sweet husband had become a mythic figure to the public, an idealized version of manhood who died valiantly defending his country.” “I was called a ‘widow’ and a ‘single parent,’ titles that literally made me sick to my stomach. It was especially painful, she said, that critics called her a hypocrite who was seeking fame, while some believers put her “on a pedestal as God’s chosen woman for such a time as this.” … I knew the grief of what it felt like to live with a missing piece.”Īfter the press blitz, Beamer tried to withdraw from the spotlight. At the same time, she was wrestling with memories of her own father’s death when she was a teenager, “leaving my mom to raise four children by herself. “To the extent that I could bear it,” she said, she tried to talk about the family’s faith and trust in God. Journalists also wanted to know what gave her comfort and hope, as the mother of two young boys who was also four months from the birth of a daughter. His soul was secure even when his body wasn’t because Jesus was his savior.” The phone rang nonstop for days and weeks, and when there was a knock at the door, it may have been anyone from a neighbor delivering dinner to a full news crew with cameras rolling.”īeamer said she answered questions about her husband in the “only way that rang true to me, because Todd loved his life, but he knew that his life was much more than his 32 years on this Earth. “Everyone from the White House to CNN to Oprah Winfrey wanted to talk to me, wanted to know more about Todd, wanted to put me on TV, wanted to take pictures of my family, wanted to know how I was coping. ![]() “I can only describe what happened next as divinely orchestrated chaos, and I do believe that. “Todd became a hero within 72 hours of his death,” said Lisa Beamer, during a Wheaton College chapel service marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11. “He wanted you to say the Lord’s Prayer with him? … And you guys completed it?” asked Lisa Beamer. “I was trying to get as much information from him as I could, and he told me to say the Lord’s Prayer with him,” said Jefferson, according to a transcript of her talk with Beamer’s wife days later. The young software salesman had also asked operator Lisa Jefferson if he could be connected to his wife, Lisa Beamer - and if not, he shared a final message to her and their two sons. Capitol - crashed into a rural field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. After learning about the World Trade Center attacks, Beamer and other passengers decided to try to seize control of the plane.įinally, Beamer said: “Let’s roll.” That was the end of the call, moments before the plane - now believed to have been headed to the U.S. 11, 2001, the drama of Todd Beamer and the heroes of Flight 93 has become an essential part of many anniversary rites.Įveryone remembers the final act, with Beamer aboard the hijacked plane, patched through to a telephone operator for a clandestine 13-minute call. Students honored at the service included: Will Gulley and Juri Otsuka (Dean’s Award) Amanda Sparkman (Dave Dolan Award) Brett Isselhardt and Kerith Marcantonio (Kenneth Monroe Award) and Keith Luna (Faculty Scholarship Award).For those who lived through Sept. The Ridley-Trees have been deeply involved in the Santa Barbara community and have given significant gifts to a wide variety of organizations. Lord Paul and Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree received the Westmont Medal, which recognizes individuals whose lives embody the principles associated with the Christian character of the college. She and Todd graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois. Beamer Foundation to benefit the children of 9-11 victims. In the days following the 9-11 tragedy, Lisa Beamer became a symbol of hope, faith and grace, appearing first during President Bush’s speech after the attacks, and then on many national television shows. Lisa Beamer, wife of 9-11 victim Todd Beamer and author of “Let’s Roll,” the heroic story of United Flight 93, spoke to the graduates. ![]() Heavy rain forced Commencement inside but didn’t dampen spirits as the college held two services May 3 to accommodate all guests.
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