We left Albuquerque and headed to Oklahoma City, OK to see the Oklahoma City Memorial that honors the 168 victims of the 1995 federal building bombing. It was devastating, even 17 years later. We shed tears and spent most of the morning in silence trying to comprehend the devastation that those families, that city, and the country as a whole felt then and to many degrees now. The foundation that won the rights to design the memorial did a beautiful, thoughtful job.
One of two entrance gates into the memorial. One says 9:01, which represents the minute of peace and normalcy before the bombing and the other says 9:03, which represents the destruction and life as we know it after the bombing. The reflection pool is meant to symbolize the “soothing of wounds” as well as where NW 5th Street used to be.
The Survivor Tree, which lived through the attack; this 99+ year old tree represents the “resilience” of the city and its survivors.
This is the Field of Empty Chairs, which symbolizes the 168 lives lost that day. Nineteen of them represent the children that died in the bombing. The field of chairs is located on what used to be the Murrah Federal Building.
The chairs are arranged in nine rows which represent the nine floors in the federal building and each chair has the name of a person who who killed on that particular floor. The smaller chairs represent the children, all 6 years old and under.
They created a gorgeous Children’s Area where some of the artwork that flooded in after the attack still stands today, especially glazed tiles. They also incorporated sections of chalkboard into the sidewalk so that children can write/draw what they’re feeling after experiencing the memorial. Emily decided to draw a picture of her helping the little children.
The is known as The Fence… it’s 200 feet of the original fence installed to protect the site in 1995. People continue to leave items of “remembrance and hope”. This part was probably the most difficult as there were current letters/pictures left from loved ones pouring out their hearts to those killed in the bombing…. mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. It was piercing!
This memorial definitely reminded us of how fragile life is and how precious Jesus needs to be….every day! To keep our eyes focused on the prize, which is about running this race well and reigning and ruling for His glory and not our own.
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