For those who were alive, there are moments we share as a nation that define us. The bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, the space shuttle Columbia disaster. And of course, the attacks on September 11, 2001.
For some reason, I spent those first few days huddled over a scrap booking project. The TV was on, but I couldn't watch the pictures. I kept the children out of the room, let them play and be innocent for a few more days. I didn't want images of that day making them afraid to sleep, to dream, to live.
Like in the days following Hurricane Katrina, people were desperate to help and many did. Others of us held our breath and prayed and waited for everything to return to normal. Only normal is not the same.
A friend, an airplane pilot from the south, was grounded indefinitely. He jumped on his motorcycle and rode two thousand miles to the northwestern corner of Washington. He arrived in the dark, in the rain, with a spirit that said "You can't stop me." That's what I needed to hear.
1 comment:
Your post reminded me of an introduction that Amy Grant gave before the closing song in her Time Again concert (DVD, 2006)...
"You know, life just speeds by.
It’s a good moment spent reminiscing.
One Fourth of July, after the fireworks had gone off, and my big kids were young, I sat out on the front porch in my great-grandmother’s rocking chair. She was long since gone, passed away when I was twenty. But I hadn’t seen her in quite some time, and I just didn’t want her memory to fade. I just sat out there by myself and thought, “I am going to try to draw to mind every memory that I have of my great-grandmother. I’m going to remember the smell of the wallpaper when you walked in the front door of that old house. I’m gonna walk up the stairs. Visit all those places I played when I was a kid. I’m going to remember the way she smiled. The way she laughed.”
Memory is such a powerful thing.
No wonder Jesus said, “When you eat and drink, remember me.”
No wonder the thief on the cross, dying next to Jesus said, “When you get to Paradise, remember me.”
SONG: If These Walls Could Speak
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