Remembrance

April 19, 1995....You know, some say you'll always remember where you were when national tragedy struck. I think that's quite true. On this date, people in Oklahoma City had awakened to a normal day of just going to work, going to school, going to pay bills, attend meetings...any one of a number of things in the daily grind.

Then came 9:01 AM...time stood still and the world came crashing down.




I was in music history class at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, quite unaware of anything that was going on. However, a friend who was working 6 miles away felt the hospital she was working in shake, and my current midwifery preceptor remembers looking out the window in labor and delivery, no doubt seeing and perhaps feeling some of what was going on, since this hospital is only a 5-minute drive from the site.

It was Wednesday, and when I went to chapel that day, we were asked to pray for the people in Oklahoma City, because someone had blown up a day care center. That's all I knew until I went back to my apartment for lunch and turned on the midday TV news...and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I felt conflicted, because I had already heard of medical professionals driving into Oklahoma City from all over the state to offer help. I seriously considered going there, but realized I couldn't leave because of my school responsibilities. I spent many days consumed with keeping up via television and newspapers the unbelievable events as they unfolded. I didn't realize how long our flags in Oklahoma had been at half staff until I went home to North Carolina in June and saw the flags at full staff.

And Jesus wept....



Fast forward to April 19, 2009...Now, a quiet field of 168 chairs sits where the massive federal building was bombed, one chair for each person who was killed in the blast...smaller chairs for children who were lost to us and large chairs for the adults. The gates of time, the survivor tree (that refused to die though it was only a few feet from the blast), and a museum that tells the story of those tragic days...they're all there. People were lined up around the outside of the building waiting to gain admission.

"We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity."

On this date, I caught baby #37 at 2 AM...I'm sure it was no accident that her name was Liberty, though I don't really think that her parents named her that because of anything connected with this day. I just think that liberty was to be the theme of this day, and this little girl's arrival was the dawn of this new day.

I had the privilege of playing harp on this date at the church that sits across from the memorial. The windows in the building were blown out that day, and ultimately, the church replaced the windows and built a beautiful new sanctuary joined to the old sanctuary. The church celebrated their 120th anniversary! It was a remembrance of joy incorporated into a day set aside to remember those who were lost to us on earth 14 years ago.

May God be strength and grant His healing power to those who lost their innocence and their loved ones on that dark day.