By Bart Moss

“It has been said that time heals all wounds. The truth is that time does not heal anything. It merely passes. It is what we do during the passing of time that helps or hinders the healing process.”

— Jay Marshall

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of one of the most tragic and destructive days in the history of the state of Alabama.

Locally this tragedy deeply affected the communities of Hackleburg, Phil Campbell, East Franklin, Tharptown, and Mount Hope.

This week individuals, churches, and communities stopped for a moment to reflect on these events.

We stopped and reflected on the lives lost, the families torn apart, the loss of community icons or just reflected on our memories and emotions of that day and the days that followed.

This week was a time to look back at the progress made over the course of the past year.

We have seen memorials erected, homes rebuilt, churches refurbished and rebuilt, business have reopened and children have regained some sense of normalcy in their lives.

This week gave us a chance to look back and reflect on the outpouring of love, generosity and kindness of so many people from all over the country.

The thousands of dollars in monetary donations to these communities have been overwhelming.

The donations of clothing, household items and basic needs have been so plentiful that much was turned away to other communities.

The number of volunteers who descended upon the area was in the thousands. They came to help rescue, rebuild, offer hope, a helping hand or just to listen and minister to hurt souls.

This week also allowed us to look forward. The rebuilding is far from complete. In some respects it is just now beginning.

The towns of Hackleburg and Phil Campbell have some major challenges ahead. With a very small tax base the communities have had to rely on state and federal grants to forge ahead.

The leaders of these communities cannot let this opportunity pass them by. If they do all will be lost and they will not have another chance.

With the passing of this one-year anniversary the attention will invariably move elsewhere.

The newspapers and television cameras will move on to other events and other tragedies and mark other anniversaries.

It will be left to the individuals and communities to finish the job. What happens as we go forward all depends on the vision of local leaders.

It all depends on the members of the communities pushing the politicians to do the job they were elected to do.

On a personal note, I would like to reflect on the past year. I grew up in East Franklin and Phil Campbell.

The church in Oak Grove where my mother and father were married was destroyed — it has been rebuilt. The church my wife and I were married in, Mountain View Baptist, was destroyed — over a thousand volunteers will rebuild it this summer.

The church we attend, First Baptist Church in Phil Campbell, was severely damaged — it has been rebuilt.

The school I attended and devoted so much time to, Phil Campbell High School, was destroyed — it will be rebuilt.

My point is: buildings are made up of bricks and sticks. They can be rebuilt and remodeled.

My son was at my parents’ house on College Road on this tragic day.

The brunt of the storm missed them by less than a couple of hundred yards.

However, my son lost a little league teammate (Ethan Knox), a classmate who sat next to him (Edgar Mojica), and a very loving second-grade teacher (Patricia Gentry).

Unlike the bricks and sticks that make up a building, friends and loved ones can’t be replaced. We can only hold on to their memories.

Finally, take some time this week and say a prayer for those who have lost loved ones. They are the ones who are really hurting this week.

They may move on with life but the memories of their loved ones and the manner in which they passed away will be forever etched on their hearts and psyche.

Pray for their comfort and healing.