Time has passed.  Still, we falter when we try to find words to describe the horrifying events of September 11, 2001.  As I take time to remember and pray for the victims of this tragedy, a simple sentence echoes through my mind.  These folks were, and are, my family.

Many from the Midwest had shared their reservations about our visiting the city, but we don't really embrace stereotypes here at Music By Laurel Jean.  Joan and I stepped off of the train in Grand Central Station.  We found an information desk.  "We're a couple of ‘hicks’ from the Midwest with a day to spend in New York," I said to the lady behind the counter.  She laughed and gave us maps and directions to many things within walking distance.

I stepped out of Grand Central Station, walking independently with my long, white cane, and felt the buildings towering above me.  The weather was beautiful, sunny with a gentle breeze.  The streets were busy, beyond anything I could have ever imagined, but everyone was so respectful.  Many of the officers directing traffic on the street corners even paused from their work to say "hello."  I was so impressed by these men and women, that the souvenir I chose was a teddy bear, dressed in the blue uniform of the NYPD.

Back in Illinois, I was doing laundry and office work when the telephone rang.  The voice of our good friend, Joyce, spoke frantically, "Turn on the television."  We watched in horror at the devastation.  I hugged my souvenir bear, remembering all of the community service workers who had treated us so kindly.  Perhaps many of them are no longer living on this earth.  I remembered my own childhood, being brought home early from my first day of third grade to be told that my father had been killed on his job.  I still pray for the children whose parents have died.

We Americans are so blessed to live where we can worship God and serve Him freely as His family.  With each new day that He gives us, let us remember that He also gives us hope. With each new dawn, let us rejoice at the opportunity to serve Him and fulfill, even in some small way, our Lord’s Great Commission.

God bless you, and keep His song in your heart.

Laurel Jean