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Good news is blessing on dark dayBy MICHELLE JONES
© St. Petersburg Times, He's okay. No words ever sounded so good. All I could say was, "Thank you, Jesus." Like many people on their way to work Tuesday, I was listening to all the horrible news unfolding in New York. Praying for comfort, for the families of those who were killed in the Trade Center. Then news of the Pentagon attack came over the radio. All of a sudden I was affected. My son-in-law, Bill, an ensign in the Navy, is stationed in the Pentagon. Was Bill safe? Why did this happen? How horrible for the families concerned. There is definitely evil in this world. I prayed, my husband prayed, my editor messaged others within our workplace to keep me in their thoughts and prayers. I heard from several colleagues, and it helped. "Your coworkers are praying for you. Wish there was more I could say to take away the things you must be feeling," one wrote in a computer message. "My prayers are with you -- I can't even begin to tell you how I feel so I know you must be overwhelmed," another messaged. Some were from people I don't even know personally. I kept busy, doing my daily work chores, praying and trying not to think. Every time the phone rang, my heart would leap. Then my husband called from home. "Bill is okay," he said. A quick call to our daughter, Laurie, from Bill let us know that he was safe, but in the chaos he could not say more. Laurie finally got through to me at 12:40 p.m. She was upset as expected. She went to my granddaughter's elementary school and brought the girl home. "We had to hide under our desk," my granddaughter told me. "Our principal said if they couldn't see us when they looked in the door (of the classrooms), we would get an A." My gratitude to God for protecting my grandchildren's father was mixed with a deep pain. Tears were flowing for the families of military and civilian Pentagon workers whose loved ones who were not so fortunate. And I felt heartache for the families in New York who also lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attack. At home, other military wives gathered around Laurie and the grandchildren. They were all grateful to God for Bill's protection, deeply hurting for those who died and worrying about what will happen next involving all people associated with the U.S. military. Someone recently sent me a poem through e-mail that said to always say something nice to a friend when you say goodbye; you do not know when and if you will see them again. My son-in-law knows I love him. I always close my conversations with him and other family members by telling them that I do. If I could hug him right now, I would, but I can't, so when I talk to him again, I will share my feelings of gratitude for him and for his safety. Just as I was writing this, Bill called to tell me he is home and is fine. He said he was on his way to watch a television report on the World Trade Center disaster Tuesday morning when he heard a loud boom, and the whole building shook. "A lot of people are injured, and there is horrible rubble," he told me. "It is awful." I made sure I told him I loved him -- at least three times. - Michelle Jones is a staff writer for the Pasco Times office in Land O' Lakes.
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From today's Pasco Times |
