reflections about life and the randomness that follows

Imagine yourself standing on the corner of one of the busiest, biggest cities you’ve seen. How tall are the buildings? What sounds can you hear? Do you see the taxis? Or the person trying to get one? What about the vendor on the corner? Can you smell the fumes of the exhaust mixed with the restaurants tucked away in those massive buildings?

Whenever I think of the city I don’t think of Columbia, Greenville, or Charleston. I think of New York. I can still remember stepping off the Amtrack walking around the corner and standing at the entrance of Madison Square Gardens. Macy’s was just down the street. People were everywhere!! Some had suits and briefcases, some with ball hats and shopping bags. I couldn’t believe it. I’d arrived.

Here I was straight out of South Carolina. Literally. I drove from Greenville to NYC in a day. Fortunately, I didn’t drive up alone. My wife’s parents went with me. Just the three of us. Well… the three of us and their dog Amy. We left around 3 am and arrived just outside of New York around 9:30pm. After a not so relaxing night on the sofa bed in Kristie’s parents’ hotel room (that’s right not only shared a ride, but also a room) the next morning I woke up, knocked on Kristie’s door and off we went to the city. Exhausted I’m sure my southern accent was obvious. I felt so out of place, but I really didn’t care. I was in New York. Who cares if I’ve got a massive camera around my neck and I’m snapping shots every chance I get? IT’S NEW YORK!

The whole city seemed super sized. The buildings, the fashion, the prices, the sales lines, the lights, the billboards, even the candy shop. I could hardly believe the M&M shop. From floor to ceiling there was candy. It’s a kid’s dream come true, and parent’s nightmare, and a cash cow for local dentists.

We tried to walk to Ground Zero. New York is a little bigger than Greenville. Trying to walk from one side of the city to the other was a little ambitious. The size of the crater was huge. I couldn’t believe just how much room the Twin Towers took up. Let me explain, a Greenville city block is not the same as a NYC block. I honestly think you could fit the city limits of Greenville within Ground Zero. It was huge.

Looking back I describe my initial reaction to New York as being awestruck. Exploring the city with Kristie is still one of my favorite memories. But as I read the scriptures I can’t help but think of how BIG the Father is and how incredibly small I am. It blows me away to think that the biggest, most extravagant things on this planet are merely an ottoman to God. Imagine that when God kicks back to relax He sits on Mars, lays His head on Jupiter, and props His feet on Earth. And that’s still an understatement!! Then imagine that he took so much time to sort out the little details. And not just little, but like microscopic, not yet discovered details of life. Like the fact that before you were born He knew how many hairs would be on your head. He is both able to see the incredibly big picture, and at the same time intricately cares about the ity bity details of our lives. The fact that other religions refer to God as some superior being that should strike fear into your heart, or that He is some small god that has to be prayed to in a specific way or else He can’t hear you makes me laugh. The fact that I call my God, abba father, dad is incredible. No other “religion” holds a candle to my relationship with my Father.