There are some moments you never forget.
I will never forget…
the first time I visited New York City. People bustled along the icy streets, my breath froze in the air. If I felt small as I looked down from the top of the Empire State Building, I felt minuscule as I stared up at the sky between the Twin Towers.
I will never forget…
standing in my bathroom, barely home from our honeymoon, listening to the seconds tick on the clock
tick
tick
tick
tick
anxiously waiting for the minutes to pass so we could check a little plastic stick.
tick
tick
tick
Two pink lines – my heart flooded with joy!
I will never forget…
laying in the doctor’s office listening to a swishing noise, trying to read the lines on the forehead of the ultrasound technician as she worked. Again the clock was ticking.
tick
tick
tick
tick
Then the beautiful noise of a galloping horse… baby boy had a heartbeat! No guarantees. Bed rest for weeks. My heart started beating again. Such relief!
I will never forget…
being uncomfortably pregnant, sitting on a cold, hard floor watching my baby boy playing sweetly with friends. Over the incoherent babbling of babies and toddlers some other mother’s phone rang. She was laughing as she answered the call.
Blood drained from her face.
Quietly she slid across the floor and turned on the television.
President Bush made his historic announcement about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. He looked decades older than pictures of him reading to school children just moments before.
Time stood still. I drove home in a daze. My mind was spinning in confusion. As the day wore on, news reports continued about the World Trade Center… the second tower… the Pentagon… civilians on another plane crashed it to the ground so that it would fail to hit its target…
Hours turned into days.
Answers were slow, painful, heartbreaking.
Days turned into weeks.
My heart swelled with grief. So. much. life. lost.
Weeks turned into months.
Grief mingled with pride as anchormen reported the ongoing sacrifices of civil servants and citizens of the United States. People served others despite the personal cost. Flags were raised. Prayers were whispered – even shouted.
Our nation united against a common enemy. Christ was in the rubble.
Months turned into years. And still, there are some moments you never forget.
Nor should you.
Amen
Amen