September 11... one year later

[hippie_chick]

Watching the coverage on this anniversary of the horrific events that changed us forever last September 11, I still try to make sense of it all. I can't . I don't think I ever will.

My heart, thoughts, and prayers go out to those who lost friends and / or family members so violently that day. My admiration and undying gratitude to those who worked day and night at Ground Zero. My thoughts and prayers are also with the American people. My country. The land that I hold so dear.

All we can do is be good to each other. Take stock and don't take anyone you love and hold dearly for granted. Go tell them you love them. Right now.


Meet Me In The Stairwell
You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001. Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say "Good-Bye." I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, "Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK.....I am ready to go."


I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. "I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!" I said. "Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now."

I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Kansas, London. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all knew Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; "Come to Me....this way....take my hand."

Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.

I did not place you in the tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me? September 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well.

Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are "ready to go."
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

Author unknown



Two Thousand One Nine Eleven

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Five thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait

A tall bearded man,
wearing a stovepipe hat
steps forward and greets them,
Then says, "Lets chat".

They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer says, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer says, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear.
The Newcomer says, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."

A man with a twang from New England shores
Then proclaimed in a voice they had all heard before
"Courage like yours does not hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day

"In the land of the living, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons

We smiled, we laughed,
we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not"

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me"

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of ruined streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, rubble and dust
And people working just 'cause they must

Hauling ash,
lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell
But not alone

"Look! Blackman, whiteman, brownman, and yellow
Side by side helping their fellow!"
So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow - but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those you've never met
All of their lives, they'll never forget
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.

The man named Abe stood and said
"Welcome my friends," and from there he led,
five thousand Newcomers, all heroes to heaven
On this day of our Lord, two thousand one nine eleven.

Author:
Paul Spreadbury