The Oklahoma City National Memorial

I had a few free hours in the afternoon, so I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial. It featured an outdoor area, with a reflecting pond and 168 "empty chairs" on the site where the federal building that was bombed on April 19, 1995, was bombed. On opposite ends of the reflecting pond are big tower-like walls - on one end, the wall say the time "9:01" and on the other end, the walls says the time "9:03". The bomb struck at 9:02. Its significance is that on 9:01 the city was going on its daily business just as any other city would have at that time in the morning. At 9:03, the city had been completely changed.

There was also a very unique indoor museum which took me about an hour and a half to go through, and I didn't take my sweet time. There was a lot of information, even a few traumatic moments. It really put you in the moment. I could write more, but it wouldn't do the experience justice. If you're ever any where near Oklahoma City, visit this memorial. I think it really struck me that we are seriously living in crazy times. The damage wasn't done just to the federal building, but to many buildings in the downtown area - there were victims all over the place, who were impacted by the blast across the street and blocks away. These are crazy times, and after I left the memorial, I really felt that the people in Oklahoma City have been living in a post-9/11 world since April 19, 1995. They knew what it was like to have their world shaken by terrorism - lives and communities changed in an instant.

The memorial looked at everything - from the victims to those guilty of the crime, to how we should learn from this act of violence and hold on to our faith and our hope. I was really struck at how the people of Oklahoma City (and their memorial) really talked about faith as the key to their overcoming of this tragedy. They were willing to see that despite all the hatred and violence, there is certainly more good in this world than bad. This city rebuilt and their resolve only stands up to that testimony.

I was so moved, I went back at night to see the outside memorial at night, with those "empty chairs" all lit up, and the memorial lights shining off the reflecting pond. There was a sense of eeriness and emptyness and tragedy. But like all things, as long as we never forget and we think of how we can make this world better, we will honor the names and memories of the 168 innocent lives that were taken from us on April 19, 1995.