I spent a week at Ground Zero as a Chaplain two weeks following the attacks. I met some great people. Many of them had lost friends and relatives and fought to rescue any survivors with grim determination.
It changed us as a people and as a nation. It showed us how real men and women act in a crisis. The media still look for people with a lust for 15 minutes of fame but these people made a lasting legacy even if no one knows exactly how.
What can we do for people suffering from such awful pain? Can I say something or do something to remove their pain or bring back a friend? No.
But we can stand with them. Listen, listen and listen.
I sat for two or three hours with cops and firefighters that came to see me as I rested beside the morgue tent. My assignment was from 1:00 AM to 1:00 PM every day and in the middle of the darkest night is when grief is the hardest to ignore.
I sat for two or three hours with cops and firefighters that came to see me as I rested beside the morgue tent. My assignment was from 1:00 AM to 1:00 PM every day and in the middle of the darkest night is when grief is the hardest to ignore.
Men wept and thanked me profusely for just being there all the way from Ohio. I prayed and listened and tried to understand. That's all. So that is what I did.
I am thankful for the opportunity and pray that I never have to do it again.
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