Falling Man

There are very few pictures from the 9/11 attack  on the World Trade Centre in New York that actually show people dying.

There are very few pictures from the 9/11 attack  on the World Trade Centre in New York that actually show people dying.

There is one though that in more ways than one literally freezes time as we watch a male human, head down, feet bent above, bisecting the frame. The haunting photograph was captured by Richard Drew, an Associated Press photojournalist. As most photographers, when certain, fast moving moments are happening, we just start reeling off shots rapidly, not necessarily knowing which frame might be the one that will most accurately define that very narrow window of time. 

There is one though that in more ways than one literally freezes time as we watch a male human, head down, feet bent above, bisecting the frame. The haunting photograph was captured by Richard Drew, an Associated Press photojournalist. As most photographers, when certain, fast moving moments are happening, we just start reeling off shots rapidly, not necessarily knowing which frame might be the one that will most accurately define that very narrow window of time. 

Drew recounts that he did not realize he captured this now famous image until he returned home and was reviewing all the shots. He himself was stunned. The next day, his picture was published in newspapers around the nation. Unmistakably, there was a backlash from readers and the image was forced into temporary exile. What was the reason for the backlash though. Suicide caught in time? The definitive image of utter hopelessness. Hmnnn...

There are some days, we all feel like this unknown man from that day. Angst, anguish, deathly anxiety sweeping over our souls like poisonous morning fog. Friends, when there are no options, unlike the iconic image of falling man…you MUST look up. When the end is hurtling at you at a hundred miles per second, draw on the promises of God for dear life. More than you can bear will never be your share as long as you remember, Jesus never left the building. God’s promises are constantly seeking a way into your heart, into your life, into your situation. You just need to open that window of surrender and Divine depending. Keep it propped open with that stick of prayer. Watch God shift your seasons, overnight, in less than a day, within in a minute, in a split second. He can, He will, He wants to. Please, let Him in and He will surely, surely...keep you from falling.


— YorkAli Walters 




Feb 9, 2025

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25