2003-06-16 11:50:39touri1
On the other side of grief (II)
Desperate Cries
Sometimes, however, it's hard to imagine how those left behind can ever grasp the magnitude of tragedy surrounding their loss. Enter Christian recording artist Tammy Trent, who was vacationing with her husband Trent in Jamaica in September 2001. The two spent an afternoon at Port Antonia relaxing on the beach and diving in the water. Trent, being an experienced diver able to hold his breath up to five minutes underwater, eventually made his way out to a part of the port called the Blue Lagoon and joined many of the other divers to explore the area's 240-foot hole.
As Tammy observed the lagoon from the shores, however, she noticed a boat going over the hole Trent had ventured into, and upon its passing, noticed he didn't come up above water. "That's when my breath was truly taken and fear came over me," recalls Tammy, who sat for 45 minutes staring at the area in hopes her husband would become visible again. "A dive team began the search, and for three hours I just sat in the back of a restaurang crying out 'Jesus help me' as I prayed for Trent's safety."
With every passing moment of his absence, Tammy became even more fearful of the outcome. AT 10 am the next day, which also happend to be Sept. 11, 2001, Tammy received a call at the hotel that the search team had found Trent dead. Devastated, she fell to the floor in paralysis over the tragic accident, equally shocked over the terrorist attacks on the United States. "Is this the end of the world?" Tammy questioned. "I was just shaking, just out of breath, desperately crying out to God."
Feelings of shock, anger and despair lingered as she was forced to stay on the island until it was safe to re-enter the United States after the terrorist attacks. During her time in the same hotel room she and Trent had begun their vacation in, she demanded a sign from God to confirm He was still there. "As I was crying to God to send an angel, a house-keeping lady at the hotel knocked on my door," recalls Tammy. "The maid said 'I could hear you crying and I've been trying to get to you. Could I hold you ?' The women wrapped her arms around me, began to pray for me and just holding me. God had sent an angel to me in a Hilton Hotel outfit at that very moment."
(to be continued ....)
Sometimes, however, it's hard to imagine how those left behind can ever grasp the magnitude of tragedy surrounding their loss. Enter Christian recording artist Tammy Trent, who was vacationing with her husband Trent in Jamaica in September 2001. The two spent an afternoon at Port Antonia relaxing on the beach and diving in the water. Trent, being an experienced diver able to hold his breath up to five minutes underwater, eventually made his way out to a part of the port called the Blue Lagoon and joined many of the other divers to explore the area's 240-foot hole.
As Tammy observed the lagoon from the shores, however, she noticed a boat going over the hole Trent had ventured into, and upon its passing, noticed he didn't come up above water. "That's when my breath was truly taken and fear came over me," recalls Tammy, who sat for 45 minutes staring at the area in hopes her husband would become visible again. "A dive team began the search, and for three hours I just sat in the back of a restaurang crying out 'Jesus help me' as I prayed for Trent's safety."
With every passing moment of his absence, Tammy became even more fearful of the outcome. AT 10 am the next day, which also happend to be Sept. 11, 2001, Tammy received a call at the hotel that the search team had found Trent dead. Devastated, she fell to the floor in paralysis over the tragic accident, equally shocked over the terrorist attacks on the United States. "Is this the end of the world?" Tammy questioned. "I was just shaking, just out of breath, desperately crying out to God."
Feelings of shock, anger and despair lingered as she was forced to stay on the island until it was safe to re-enter the United States after the terrorist attacks. During her time in the same hotel room she and Trent had begun their vacation in, she demanded a sign from God to confirm He was still there. "As I was crying to God to send an angel, a house-keeping lady at the hotel knocked on my door," recalls Tammy. "The maid said 'I could hear you crying and I've been trying to get to you. Could I hold you ?' The women wrapped her arms around me, began to pray for me and just holding me. God had sent an angel to me in a Hilton Hotel outfit at that very moment."
(to be continued ....)