The miracles of the World Trade Center tragedy

By Reverend Stephen-Claude Hyatt, Contributor

THE REALITY of last week Tuesday's attack on the World Trade Twin Towers, will be in the memory of all for years to come. In the space of an hour, one of the most noticeable landmarks in Manhattan, and two of the world's most significant buildings, were destroyed.

Thousands are still missing and feared dead, the death toll is rising daily, and still, no concrete evidence as to who the culprit is. Many of us will remember forever, the images of individuals jumping to their deaths, instead of suffering the torture of being burnt alive. I am still in shock when I remember seeing the clips of the second plane turning and deliberately heading towards and crashing in the second tower. Who could be so wicked, so evil, so heartless to commit such an act?

No one could have imagined that a mode of travelling which many of us have come to trust, could be used as a missile. That is what happened, these terrorists converted aeroplanes, from their normal use of transporting passengers, into missiles of mass destruction.

Not only is the American economy affected, also the global economy, which means that all countries of the world will be "doubled over" in pain from the effects of last Tuesday's events. In the middle of all this however, was the reality of the grace of God and His hands extending to rescue. Several miraculous events have taken place during and leading up to this crises.

The first miracle is the timing. Had the terrorists struck an hour or even half an hour after they did, more lives would have been lost. Many individuals for one reason or the other, reported that they were later for that morning than usual. Some stopped off to purchase bagel and coffee, others worked late the night before and decided to go in late that morning; hence, they were spared the devastation. This for me is a miracle.

I have been told of several persons who decided on not going to work that morning, for some strange reason. One such person is a cousin of mine, who worked as an Attorney at the Towers. She got up that morning and decided for no real reason that she was not going to work that fateful morning, as she did not feel up to it. This, I might add, is not indicative of the type of person she is, as she just loved her job and where she worked. I have heard of many other such stories of individuals who did not report to work that morning, as they just did not feel like working that day. I believe that it was not just a feeling, it was the Spirit of God who spoke into the spirits of these individuals and prodded them to stay home. This for me is a miracle.

Another miracle in the entire scenario is the fact that there are some 50,000 individuals who are reported to have worked in the Twin Towers on a daily basis. Yet, less than five thousand are reported missing. Not to mention the fact that there are countless individuals, mainly tourists, who visit the facility on a daily basis. The missing list therefore could have been in the tens of thousands. This for me is a miracle.

I remember watching the ABC feed from New York, when the Towers fell. Although I have since heard reports that the buildings were designed to fall in the way they did, it is still phenomenal that they did not topple, instead they crumbled and disintegrated. Can you imagine the further devastation had the Towers fallen in opposite directions, especially taking into account that they were just slammed into by speeding planes? I am sure the design to crumble could have ended in a topple, as the architectures did not account for planes slamming into the buildings in such a fashion. This for me is a miracle.

Let us just imagine for a while, what would have happened had the buildings collapsed immediately after they were struck. Many more individuals would have died and been trapped under rubble. I have heard the tales of individuals who as soon as they exited the buildings, the buildings collapsed less than ten seconds behind them. The fact that the buildings did not collapse before they did, this for me is a miracle.

So, we have much to be angry and shocked about, America has reason to want revenge; however, in the midst of all this, let us thank God for His miraculous works. The reality is that the devastation could have easily been more devastating than it was. We indeed have much to be thankful and grateful for. To God be the glory great things He has done.

Rev. Stephen-Claude Hyatt is a guidance counsellor at Jamaica College and can be reached at yahgnosis@hotmail.com

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