It is incredibly hard for me to imagine that 9/11 happened 20 years ago this upcoming weekend! Coming, hopefully, out of the pandemic, there are not many things that have changed my life so profoundly as 9/11. It is that one day where we can collectively remember exactly where we were when we either heard the news of the airplanes or saw the footage. I, for one, remember it as if it was yesterday. Now on the heels of the pandemic coming to a close, more than ever, we should honor the heroes that have touched our lives in such permanent and joyous ways.

Homes for Heroes – Can’t Compare to What They Give Daily

I joined the Homes for Heroes program because it has a special place in my heart. When I get up to go to work in the morning, my worst fear is that I run late for a home showing or that someone might outbid a contract offer. My actions will probably never save someone’s life directly. I do not live in a life-or-death occupation, and am thankful that I don’t, which is why I have so much gratitude for those who take on that role without question.

The First Responders in Our Community and Beyond

It takes so much courage to look at a potentially dangerous situation and go headfirst into the fire, putting your own fears and needs aside. It truly requires a special type of personality, heart, and individual to risk themselves for others without hesitation. Being a first responder depends on so much more than knowledge and training; it takes the courage of a lion and the heart of someone who is truly selfless.

So the very least that the rest of us can do is to find ways to make their lives less encumbered and fulfilling, and hopefully, that is what I am doing one Homes for Hero at a time. So far, I have donated a total of over $58,000 of commission to put families in homes that they deserve. I feel it is a very small contribution to make to those in the community who sacrifice so much more!

A Collective Thank You to Summerville’s Heroes

When the pandemic came to Summerville, it was no less terrifying or uncertain of a time than 9/11. Although it is difficult to remember how vulnerable the twin towers attack made us feel, there was a time when we felt the threat to our happiness, health, and families were everywhere. The people who stepped up to the plate to combat both COVID, and who were there twenty years ago to make us feel secure in the aftermath of a horrible American tragedy, forever changed us, in the best way ever.

The Biggest Takeaway From Tragedy

When tragedy strikes, we have choices to make; we can wallow in it, or we can rise above it. We can let it rob us of happiness or choose to see the silver lining. We can live in fear, or we can find our courage to persevere. I would dare say that when we have needed those in our community most, they have stepped up to the plate time and time again, without waiver, without hesitation, without fear, and we are all better for it.

When I think about the greatest tragedies that this country has endured, I don’t think about all the loss, I think about how we banded together, how the best in all of us shined, and how we put ourselves aside to help our neighbors I consider how many people gave their lives trying to protect, rescue, and help others. Those are the lessons learned in the face of adversity, and that is what I see in our Summerville community.

I am Proud to be an American, a Southerner, to Call Summerville my Home

In the end, we can choose to carry fear, resentment, and sadness, or we can choose to take the best parts with us and remember that no matter how bad things get, there is goodness to be found everywhere you look. I don’t know what God has intended for us, but I do know there is a special place in heaven for the many heroes who make our lives so much richer in so many different ways without asking for anything in return.

So on the 20th anniversary, take the time to thank those in our community who are always there to comfort, protect, and carry us through tragedy to find the rainbow after the storm. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I will take the liberty of saying thank you, from all of us in Summerville, and around the nation! Think you might be eligible for Homes for Heroes in Summerville, SC? Contact us today and let us help!