On January 13th 1982 an Air Florida flight crashed off the 14th Street Bridge in Washington DC. It was a bridge I had traveled across many times before during the year I lived in DC. The entire event was being broadcast live and I sat glued to the TV as the big Boeing 737 slid ever so slowly into the swirling ice cold waters of the Potomac River. Only five people out of the 79 that were onboard that flight survived the crash.
Two of those who survived owe their lives to the heroism and selflessness of a 46 year old man named "Arland D. Williams Jr." who was a bank examiner. I did not know his name for twenty years after the crash but it is a name I will probably never forget.
Because of the heavy traffic around DC and on the bridge that day the emergency vehicles were seriously hindered from reaching the scene. In the interim two TV news copters did the best they could to pull the few people who had made it to the surface out of the water. It was noble effort on their part because the wind driven snow was a screaming polar bear closing in on the prey.
I watched in stark amazement as one copter lowered a small life ring to a white haired gentleman in the frozen raging soup. He grabbed the ring but then worked it over to another passenger who was then lifted to safety. The copter returned and once again lowered the ring to the gentleman who pushed it over to another passenger yet again. By the time the copter returned for the third time the distinguished gentleman was slipping beneath the stinging waters never to be seen again on that day.
For weeks I could not get that picture out of my mind, but I didn't want to get it out of my mind. I felt I had witnessed the best example I had seen in my lifetime of perfect and selfless love. I have told this story countless times in my messages as a preacher of the gospel. I still get choked up with emotion and with the same feelings I had when I watched the events unfold before me. There is an inestimable sense of admiration and respect I feel for Mr. Williams. I often see myself looking and calling for friends and loved ones when I get to heaven. I also see myself asking the Lord for an introduction to Mr. Williams so I can see and embrace one of the bravest men and best examples of love I ever hope to know in this life.
Mr. Williams gave a living and lasting example to me of just what Jesus was talking about when he said?"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," John 15:13 KJV. Thank you for this example Mr. Williams.
The 14th Street Bridge has been renamed the "Arland D. Williams Jr. Memorial Bridge." Several memorials to Mr. Williams have been placed at "The Citadel" in South Carolina which he graduated from in 1957. In His hometown of Mattoon, Illinois the elementary school was named after Mr. Williams in 2003.
Rev Bresciani has written many articles over the past thirty years in such periodicals as Guideposts and Catholic Digest. He is the author of two books available on Amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes and Noble and many other places. Rev Bresciani wrote "Hook Line and Sinker or what has Your Church Been Teaching You," publisher, PublishAmerica of Baltimore MD. He also wrote a book published by Xulon Press entitled "An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ." His book is now being heralded as the clearest book on the subject of the second coming of Christ since Hal Lindsey's "Late Great Planet Earth" Rev Bresciani's website is,
efficient cleaning crew Lake Forest ..Life, no matter how we choose to look at it,... Read More
Qohelet had grown old with time when he delivered his... Read More
We'll begin with a question:What is a moral?I'd say it's... Read More
Baptism and christening ceremonies are an important event that signifies... Read More
Faith is the remarkable force that gives us the empowerment... Read More
You will become as great as your dominant aspiration...If you... Read More
"We're one, but we are not the same."-Bono, U2Once I... Read More
That we must live with imperfections is a fact of... Read More
On one side there is a dark cloud. It is... Read More
Be filled with the Spirit.? always giving thanks to God... Read More
The question isn't, "Is there life after death."Rather, the question... Read More
My name is Had. You may know me, but you... Read More
Most of our troubles are bought about by exercising our... Read More
Imagine for a moment. It's Tuesday night about 7pm. You... Read More
"I would rather regret some of my failures in life... Read More
Last month, one of my readers needed a new car.... Read More
The possibility of almost 400 Old Testament prophesies coming to... Read More
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on... Read More
Talked to an interesting person today at a coffee shop,... Read More
First, there is the field of complete consciousness.This then expresses... Read More
God, what a wonderful spirit. He, is our ever present... Read More
Eden, the garden of ecstasy is no longer available to... Read More
My fiancee' and I frequent a restaurant in L.A. called... Read More
Aristotle referred to happiness as the most we can achieve.... Read More
An act of selflessness is the highest expression of selfishness... Read More
green cleaning service Deerfield ..Matthew 2:16-18Herod Kills the Children16 Then Herod, when he saw... Read More
Is it not true that only after gaining Enlightenment (Self-Realization)... Read More
All Shamans have several power songs because the vibration of... Read More
I am often asked to explain what I mean by... Read More
The dictionary defines the word forgive as: [to pardon, as... Read More
Water of Enlightenment, Angel of Peace and Harmony for Nature... Read More
Kundalini Awakening - the sure shot method for awakening of... Read More
"It's a big challenge. It's a journey into the unknown.... Read More
A Nathan type prophet sees with his eyes. A Samuel... Read More
Ever wonder what happened to the family dinner hour? Or... Read More
"Self-Actualization" is the process of making our self "actual." Our... Read More
IS FAITH - NOT VITAMIN C WHAT'S MISSING FROM YOUR... Read More
In the movie "Forest Gump" we see Forest succeed in... Read More
Let Your Family and Friends Know That You Are A... Read More
As we proceed further into the 21st century there is... Read More
The Birth of Jesus Christ18 Now the birth of Jesus... Read More
I believe in the source we refer to as 'God'.... Read More
Tarot card reading delves into an individual's psyche and thus... Read More
The tongue is such a tiny little organ. Yet, it... Read More
I have been thinking a lot about the spiritual growth... Read More
On one side there is a dark cloud. It is... Read More
Whenever, we have a task or project to carry out... Read More
In the early 90's I had a spontaneous Kundalini Awakening... Read More
People have always sought the sacred. It is the Divine... Read More
There is an prayer process in every religion and everyone... Read More
Spirituality |