Last October, Josh and I
flew to New York to spend time with our sisters in Manhattan. During our stay, Josh and I stood in line to visit the
9/11 Memorial.
I visited Ground Zero with my family in 2002, when I was only 12 years old. The debris was still being carted away. The area was sectioned off with crude, cloaked, chain-link fences, fences which were adorned with a seemingly endless tribute to lost loved ones. I will never forget the "MISSING" posters, the personal photos, the images of Christ bleeding on the cross, the fading flowers which were looped through the fence, the handwritten notes and newspaper clippings which were smeared and crinkled by the rain. It was disturbing. It was real.
Visiting the completed 9/11 Memorial with Josh was a different experience. The site was cleaned up, renewed, and reborn, the frightening graveyard now a place of solace for the broken. As we walked slowly along the fountains and ran our hands over the names (
all those names), I couldn't help but notice the aura of the place. It was noticeably quiet, reverent, hopeful.
Joe Daniels, President of the 9/11 Memorial, writes, "Today, we honor the thousands of innocent men, women, and children who
were taken from us too soon eleven years ago. Here at the 9/11 Memorial
in New York City, we will read their names aloud. We will stand together
in silence at six moments, marking when the Twin Towers were struck,
the buildings fell, the Pentagon was attacked, and Flight 93 crashed in a
Pennsylvania field. Together, we will remember the devastating loss and
reflect on the preciousness of life."
He concludes, "On this eleventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks, please join me
in remembering those who were lost and how we came together to honor
them in the aftermath. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.
The memories of their loved ones live on in our hearts and in the
Memorial that bears their names. They will never be forgotten."
Never forget.
