Bells Peal Peace Near Site of 911 Ground Zero

By Lauren Yarger
Eight years ago on this date, I didn’t know if it would ever be possible to feel peaceful, or in fact, to feel anything again, after the terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center. Personally, it was the beginning of a long walk through an emotional and spiritual desert in which the Lord was my only oasis (read how God walked with me through the dry years in an article published by ByDesign Ministries by clicking here.)

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero, now the site of bustling construction as redevelopment and a memorial are going up. Just around the corner stands historic Trinity Episcopal Church, (you may know it from the movie “National Treasure”) a lovely building with beautiful stained glass windows that stood when the towers came down. It also boasts a new donation of 12 change bells (read the story here) . Last Saturday, members of The North American Guild of Change Ringers had gathered at the church for its annual meeting and at noon, the baffles in the tower were opened. A burst of unfettered joy resounded all through the area.

Sitting on a bench in the adjacent cemetery which holds the resting places of those dead for centuries, with many tombstones so worn with time that they are illegible, I felt a peace I never would have imagined possible in 2001. That day, the world changed. We united, recovered and moved on, but we’ll never again be able to live a day without knowing that everything can change in the blink of an eye.

Except for God, that is, and this thought is what brought such peace last Saturday. The bells pealed and seemed to tone “He is here; yes, he is here!” and the tragic events of September 2001, for the first time, seemed a long time ago.

A burst of applause greeted the first touch. It was like a little slice of heaven, where all that is good and all that is right joins together in harmonious song to shout with joy to the Almighty.

The bells will ring again in a special memorial Friday, Sept. 11, 2009 from 8 to 8:45 am.