The Twin Towers - Postcard Friendship Friday #80

Sunday is the ten year anniversary of September 11.  That date was a defining moment in the history of the United States. And in the lives of myself and my family. 

I remember that spring, just days before  the last bodies of those who had died were discovered, and the recovery effort was declared finished, my family and I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero.  That great scar in the earth had left another one in my heart. 

I will never forget standing on the viewing platform that cold cloudy day.  Hundreds of people gathered there, were silent as they walked up the ramps and stood together.   The air was eerily quiet.  It was as though the bare wood on the ramp was covered with a thick layer of dust.  As you know New York City never rests--it is like the ceaseless roar of a great ocean.  But in that place, sound was somehow dampened.

My husband and son stood close, as my daughters and I closed our eyes and began to sing Amazing Grace in three-part harmony.  Some of the people in the crowd joined in.  

Then as we sang the words, "bright shining as the sun..."  Something incredible happened.  There was a sudden instantaneous break in those cold, dark clouds--a brilliant beam of sunlight burst through, beaming down, sweeping over the huge American Flag, covering Ground Zero where so many lost their lives.  Then a gasp from the crowd as brightness was touching our faces, embracing the hundreds on the viewing platform with dazzling warmth. 

As we finished the song, our little family wrapped our arms around each other, heads bowed and we wept. I don't know how long we stood  there, tears slipping down our faces--but when we lifted our heads, we were alone.  The hundreds of people standing with us had moved away so softly we hadn't realized they had gone.

Though each group was only allowed 15 minutes, the guards told us to stay as long as we wished.  And we did--praying for all the families who's loved ones had died there, for our nation and for the world.

That day touched me and my family in a way I cannot even put into words.  What a blessing it was to feel--literally--the warmth of God's grace.  Suffice it to say none of us will ever forget 9/11, or the people who died that day in the World Trade Center.
 

* NOTE: You don't have to stick to the theme I choose each Friday. Just put up the postcards you love and tell us why you like them.

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