Career Peace

As a police officer, CeeCee Lyles had to put her life on the line daily. A new career was supposed to change that. But no career change could possibly have prepared her for the one incredible sacrifice she made…on September 11, 2001.

Lyles spent much of her life being a hero. She was a single mother who worked hard to raise her two kids. Her dedication to her job allowed her to move from patrol officer to detective in a few short years. She was a role model to young women who felt trapped by single motherhood.

Lyles trusted deeply in God and believed she should always do the right thing. Even though working on the police force wasn’t an ideal job, Lyles took it to support her children.

But she had always wanted to be a flight attendant.

In 2001, she got her chance. Her kids were older, and shed married a man who supported her dreams. She graduated from flight school at the end of January and took a job with United Airlines. She loved her new job.

All that changed on September 11, 2001. Lyles was one of the flight attendants on United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed in a Pennsylvania field. The terrorists on board were planning to turn the doomed Boeing 767 toward the East and fly it into the White House.Lyles was one of the flight attendants on United Airlines Flight 93, the one that crashed in a Pennsylvania field.

Lyles was used to having courage. Her family and her previous job demanded it. Lyles was one of the five flight attendants who boiled water to throw on the 9/11 hijackers. She likely used her self-defense skills to help the passengers try to regain control of the aircraft as well.

She called her family minutes before the crash, telling them that she loved them and that she was praying for the passengers.

Lyles trusted in God and lived a life of daily sacrifices. When He asked her to make one final sacrifice for others, she was ready.

-Lauren Fogle

Tags: Career Change, God and Career