 |
| (composite created by Katie Costello) |
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Cor 15:52)
We wake up every morning not expecting the unexpected. We go through our morning routine without thought, without hesitation. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that the beautiful September morning 11 years ago would forever change my life.
I can play it out - that scenario - over and over again...it's not something I forget (or ever will). Each hour of the day, the words spoken between my then husband and I, my children, my sister-in-law, my family and my friends are forever etched across my heart. Time has healed the wound, but the scar remains. Somedays the pain of the aftermath is so intense, it's nearly impossible to bear. Chuck's death was the final blow to a marriage already on the rocks. What I did not know, what I could not have known was that God did, in fact, have a plan...
The events that change your life for the better are often the hardest. We've all read the cute sayings that tell us of the Father's love for us through the storms in our lives - but when we are in them...well, we really can't even imagine a blessing. I never did - I thought God hated me. Why else would all this horror be unfolding before my eyes? How wrong I was.
Today I am alive! I live for Him and do His work daily. I have been undeservingly blessed in more ways than I can count! Today I celebrate life ~ a life centered in Christ! The greatest gift He ever gave to me came from one of the most horrible acts ever endured by one man...the gift of Calvary. To me, September 11th will never be remembered as "the day the towers fell"...it is the anniversary of the death of my brother-in-law, Chuck Costello, who was in the South Tower when it collapsed. Honor those who died, pray for those left behind, and never forget those families lives were forever changed...
