I look to the hills!
Where will I find help?
It will come from the Lord,
who created the heavens
and the earth.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
We cannot ignore the historical significance of this day… and frankly, we must talk about it. Every year on this anniversary, people recall exactly where they were when the Twin Towers fell in New York City. Social media is filled today with photo montages and video tributes. We will all pause for today and feel sad and talk about where we were twelve years ago and how horrible this event was for so many.
But what we don’t ponder – at least for very long – is how the victims and their families have endured the ramifications of this tragedy every day for twelve years. We don’t stop to consider how Veronica Glascoe Squef, a mother of two with a third baby on the way, put one foot in front of the other… so that she dropped off boys for 10th, 8th, and 6th grades this week. She wrote a love note to her husband, Keith Glascoe (a NYC firefighter with Ladder Co. 21 who perished on 9-11) on her Facebook page that says in part…
“I can still remember 12 years ago the night before...you picking me up at Macy's from my part-time job... We went to bed with Owen still sleeping with us and Nolan was in his big boy bed. He would be 3 years old in a couple of weeks. He was ready - or we thought he was. That morning we woke up with Nolan and Owen in our bed.*lol* I will never forget that night, and I treasure it like it was yesterday. Just a reminder... never take anything for granted. Live and love today!!!”Most of us cannot relate… to Veronica and others whose spouses never came home…to boys and girls who went to school that morning and returned to find that one of their parents was gone forever. We have no clue what it must feel like to be the family member whose loved one’s remains have never been recovered.
I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating… shortly after 9-11, I reached out to the families of the NYC firefighters in Ladder Company 21 who lost a loved one on that fateful day. A music minister in our community had visited New York with a touring choir a few weeks after the tragic event, and he returned with a list of names and addresses for firefighters from Ladder Co. 21 in the “Hell’s Kitchen” area of NYC. He suggested that we drop these families a note of sympathy and encouragement. I did this, and three families responded. Over the years, I lost touch with the family of William Krukowski; the correspondence became sparse with Ed and Alice Henry…parents to 25-year-old Joe, whose remains were never recovered. Ed was also a NYC firefighter, as were some of Joe’s brothers, uncles, and other family members.
To this day, I still correspond with Veronica Squef and keep up with her three boys… mostly via Facebook. I am continually impressed with how she has managed… how happy and vibrant the boys appear… how she shuttles them to football and baseball practices and games… takes them fishing and to other events in their area…and how she and the boys even travel to Argentina to visit her family. We have never had an in-depth conversation about her faith, but I’ve seen the countless posts on her Facebook page from others who are praying for Veronica and her boys – and I am among them.
I have to believe that Veronica is one of many directly affected by this tragedy who “look to the hills” for strength from the LORD on a daily basis. I also have to believe that they have made a conscious choice to allow God to help them get through this. How else could they survive it? Family and friends can offer a certain amount of encouragement and support… but Who makes the real difference? Who sends these “earthly angels”? Who fills in the gaps and does the supernatural things that are necessary to survive such an ordeal?
I pray that you and I never have to endure a tragedy and challenge of this magnitude. But let’s be honest… we are all faced with life-changing trials and events. We all have decisions to make… choices that can change the course of our life. And at the end of the day, we can choose to “look to the hills” and call on the LORD for strength, wisdom, courage, comfort and peace… or we can “wing it” and hope for the best. The latter is not an option for me…what about you?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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