“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Jesus: John 15:12-14

Rebekah and I were pleased when the grandchildren asked us to include the Flight 93 Memorial Park on our Pennsylvania itinerary. David had recently covered 9-11 in 8th-grade history and wanted to visit the site.

It is a startlingly arresting memorial, planted at the exact location where the United Airlines Boeing 757-222 hit the ground, inverted, at 580 miles per hour.

We all know the story of the heroism demonstrated by the passengers and crew, and how their intervention stopped what would have been a devastating blow to the United States Capitol. What impresses me about the site is how well that story is told.

I am especially taken by the architecture, the expansive development of the site, and the attention to detail. From the slate-gray walkway that follows the path of the descent, to the observation deck that stops abruptly to offer a panoramic view of the debris field, to the quiet, meditative pathway that winds down the incline and through fields of wildflowers to the point of impact.

The wildflowers. Scattered and plentiful, delicate and bright with color and with hope, insistently offering the clear message that life continues on and that beauty can – and will – flourish even in the middle of such destruction.

“And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” – Jesus: Matthew 6:30

The day was overcast, not too hot and a little breezy, good for walking and for taking in the gravity of such an event and its implications.

So we went on up to the Tower of Voices. A dramatic design, 93-feet tall, carrying in the chimes the echoes of the voices of those lost… but not lost to memory – and that is the point. Those who give everything always have everything.

It is a good lesson to remember. Those who give without holding back are the rich ones, the ones we remember, the ones who continue to teach generosity of spirit in the echoes of their voices, their witness to life – even in death.

I am grateful for such sacrifices and such courage, grateful that this flight did not reach its intended target, grateful for all who put themselves at risk in order to guarantee the freedom too many of us take for granted.

It is hard to fathom that it has been twenty-five years since the monumental events of that day. May we never forget.

– DEREK