“What separates us from the animals,
what separates us from the chaos,
is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”
David Levithan
(the sign outside of the Remembrance Garden in Kinsale, Ireland / Julie Cook / 2015)
16 years have passed…
and yet our hearts still mourn.
In 2015 when on a trip to Ireland, I had the privilege of visiting the small
picturesque fishing village of Kinsale.
Tucked away off the beaten path, perched high on a hill overlooking the harbor,
is a humble and unassuming memorial garden park.
This however is not any sort of average garden nor an average memorial….
certainly not what one would expect to find in an Irish fishing village.
It is a living memorial to the American tragedy of 9/11.
The following link is to post I wrote, almost two years ago to the day,
after returning home regarding our visit to the garden….
https://cookiecrumbstoliveby.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/out-of-the-darkness-has-come-a-great-light/
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:3-4
cookiecrumbstoliveby 
Julie, as I reread your post from October 9, 2015 I was struck by this paragraph which applies so much to today:
“It is because of such a tribute and memorial that we are allowed to turn our hearts…as we are gently reminded that we mustn’t hold on to the anger and hate, the rage and righteous indignation which so often fills our minds and hearts as we recall such a fateful day. Rather it must be to the hope and to the light cast from the sacred bond we share as human beings—It is because of these very humanistic qualities which make us more alike than different–those shared emotions of both joy and sorrow which bind us, unconditionally in love and to the shared respect we have for one another as human beings.”
Let us try to remember our common bonds today as well in spite of the vitriol that we hear. We are all one in Christ. Blessings and may Irma deal gently with you.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
With all that’s going on right now, it makes one wonder how much more we can deal with. Praise God, He gives us the victory over all of it. I’m praying that you are safe, Julie.
Thanks Kathy– rains and winds but so far typical of a stormy day
Praise the Lord.
🙂
I remember where I was very vividly. I was actually managing the Veteran’s Canteen Service Retail Store in the VA Hospital at the time. We had this big wall of TVs like you see in the stores for demo. So, we all stood there watching the whole thing in living color on a dozen TVs. I think some of the veteran’s realized instantly what this all meant for our future. I even made a prediction that very day. My prediction was that we would use that as a reason to start a war we would never finish, and that in just a few years there would be more people coming in than could possibly be cared for in the system. But….I probably should not get started on that subject.
I was at school and it was between classes— I was in the hall outside my door during the class change when one of the coaches came by telling me to turn on my TV as we were under attack.
It will always be one of those…”Where I was then,” events I suppose.
Sadly yes, it certainly will
Even after all these years I get emotional; what a wonderful thing that some in Ireland have a park to commerate those fire fighters who died that tragic day.