A ccouple years ago, writer David Dunlap reported on a remarkable aspect of the construction of the Twin Towers which had influenced the outcome of rescue and restoration efforts after the attack of September 11, 2001. As Dunlap phrased it, some of the heroes of 9/11 had performed their lifesaving work long before the attack. Who were these heroes? … the engineers and construction workers who designed and built what is known as the slurry wall, which surrounded the entire foundation of the World Trade Center.
The slurry wall was intended to prevent ground water from seeping from the Hudson River into the spongy layers of landfill that made up the building site. In other words, the slurry wall was supposed to stabilize the area and make construction possible.
When the slurry wall was proposed, it was a somewhat novel solution to the problem of establishing a stable foundation for the great buildings. Constructing the slurry wall began with digging trenches 70 feet deep, filling them with a slurry of mud and clay, lowering steel rebar into the slurry, then pumping heavy concrete into the trench, which displaced the slurry and hardened around the rebar.
Numerous difficulties were encountered in constructing the slurry wall at the World Trade Center site including uneven bedrock and jurisdiction disputes. But the wall was eventually completed and the building project followed.
Yet it was not until the collapse of the Twin Towers in 2001 that the significance of the slurry wall was fully appreciated. Despite enormous pressure from the ground water after the Towers fell, the slurry wall held. And because that humble underground wall held its own, the 70-foot-deep foundation under the fallen buildings did not fill with water. Because the wall held, the subways which ran through the area also remained dry. Though a horrendous catastrophe had been endured, because the wall held, an even greater tragedy was averted.
The National September 11 Memorial Museum will feature an exposed portion of that slurry wall in its exhibits. The lowly underground wall, quietly serving its purpose for decades, has become a symbol of stability, resilience, and the possibility of resurgence.
The symbolism of that modest but essential wall is clear, isn’t it – not only for the city of New York, but for all of us? While a few lucky souls seem to build lives of towering significance with apparent effortlessness, for most of us it’s not that easy. Many of us would find the ground of our lives too spongy, shaky or unstable for building if it weren’t for some deep supporting structures. Most of us would have to confess that our lives have been built with the assistance of people, resources and perspectives that undergird it all. These beneath-the-surface agents of strength grant us resilience and make resurgence possible for us when we are deflated and defeated.
What supports your life and keeps it from toppling when adversity strikes? Is family your wall of defense? Are friends your bulwark? Has your faith allowed you to face adversity and transcend it? Do you allow yourself to rely upon God as your rock-solid foundation?
If whatever upholds and sustains you goes unnoticed, it may be time to dig down and take a good look at what holds you up. Acknowledge the heroes of your life, be they human or divine. Give thanks that you need not stand alone.
