Ground Zero

​The Lord is nigh unto them
that are of a broken heart.
Psalm 34:18a

The longer I live the more I have come to realize that life is truly a gift from God...

It's not something to take for granted. And the time each of us has on this earth is not to be squandered. Why? Because we belong to God, and it is He who created us. AIso, because for all of us, life could end at any moment.

I was reminded of these things as two days ago was the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in which several thousand people were killed on American soil. And to further remind me of this, and to the brevity and frailty of life as well, is a book I'm reading:

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​REPORT FROM GROUND ZERO:
THE STORY OF THE RESCUE EFFORTS AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER
by Dennis Smith
(c.2002, Viking-Penguin, New York).
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​As the title indicates, it's the story of the rescue efforts of firefighters and law enforcement personnel who were the first responders to the World Trade Center, or were part of the rescue and recovery efforts in the days and months afterwards .

The book also contains the stories of many of the first responders who lost their lives, and how their families struggled to cope with their losses.

Report From Ground Zero allowed me to better reflect on the sanctity of life, and upon the horrific levels of grief, pain, anguish and suffering they must all somehow endure. And along with this are stories of the enormous outpourings of gratitude towards the emergency personnel by the general public. It is the story of mankind's desire to triumph over evil.
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D. B.