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The Day of the Oklahoma City Bombing We often talk about patience and keeping things in perspective. "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" (James 1.2-3). Another important passage is Luke 21.9, "By your patience possess your souls." There are other passages that tell us to count our many blessings and to be thankful for what we have. I remember my Mom telling me that things are not so bad that they could not be worse. I must admit that there are days when my patience gets worn a little thin and I get that “why me" feeling. But April 19, 1995 was a day that showed me to be thankful for my blessings and to relax when things are going poorly. To understand April 19, 1995 I need to explain the day before and what was happening. Regena, the children, and I were living in Wilburton, Oklahoma. Wilburton is a little town of about 2,000 people in the southeastern part of Oklahoma. McAlester is about 40 minutes west and Poteau, Oklahoma is about 1 hour to the southeast. Fort Smith, Arkansas is almost two hours east of Wilburton. On April 18th we decided to go to Fort Smith to see someone in the hospital. Getting away from Wilburton was a chore with young children so we decided to go and have lunch at Poteau and then go on to the hospital. Once we got to the hospital, Regena realized she did not have her purse. It did not take us long to realize that the purse had to be at the restaurant in Poteau. We went back to the restaurant, but the purse was not there. Immediately we went home and Regena started calling the credit card companies and canceling all of our cards (as a side note we no longer have any credit cards). While doing this we got a call from a lady who said she had found Regena's purse in the parking lot of the restaurant. It was late in the day so we made an appointment to meet the lady the next day in Poteau. Keep in mind that this meant another hour to hour and a half drive and half a day wasted. The next morning I left Regena and the children home and drove to the place, another restaurant, to meet this unknown person. Well, I waited and waited but no one showed up. I told the manager who I was, what I was doing, and left my number in case the lady showed up. At this point I drove to the police station to file a stolen purse. The police officer taking the information stopped me during the conversation and asked if anyone was at home. He told me a common trick used by thieves was to steal a purse or wallet, call the owner, get them out of the house, and then go and rob the house. Of course Regena was at home so I called to check on her. About this time, the police station received a phone call for me. The restaurant manager called to tell me that someone had dropped off the purse. So, I went back to the eatery and there was Regena's purse. All of this time I kept on thinking of how I was wasting time and what a bad day this was. At the point of calling Regena with the news of finding her purse, I realized a television set was on. The picture was of some bombed out building somewhere. There are always pictures of some catastrophe on the news so I did not pay much attention to it until Regena answered the phone. She proceeded to tell me that there was a bombing in Oklahoma City. There were federal employees in the building, but there was also a day care center there. Eventually we learned 168 people were killed that day. It was at that point that my "bad day" seemed pretty good. I wasted half a day, BIG DEAL! I drove two hours that morning, another BIG DEAL. What little money in the purse was gone, SO WHAT! Regena and the children were safe at home. It was not until the next day that the magnitude of this event hit me. On the front page of the newspaper was a picture of a fireman walking away from the federal building with a young child in his arms. The clothes had been shredded and the body battered from the blast. When we start to feel sorry for ourselves or think we are having a bad day, we need to look around and see how others suffer. Over the next few weeks we watched the rescue efforts to get survivors out from under the rubble. We heard the heart rending stories of loved ones that were now a memory. One lady lost two children in the blast, another lady was talking to her husband when the phone line went dead. There were 168 people killed that day and countless hearts broken. Obviously my point of reference changed immediately. I could only think of those innocent people that were killed that morning. Since that day we have had other bad days. September 9, 2001 made Oklahoma City seem small in comparison. I will admit to having times when my patience gets thin, and I get frustrated, but I try to keep things in perspective. Things are not so bad that they cannot be worse. We need to be thankful for all the blessings we have and every day is a day the Lord has given us. -- Dennis Tucker |