Vacation Days 7-9 - New York City!

All the weather reports stated it would rain every day we were in NYC. It was sunny and lovely the entire time. Not too hot or humid. Perfect. To me, this is just one more act of kindness from our King. I don’t deserve it, but God is pouring out His kindness to me and my family on this incredible vacation. And in New York City, I felt His supernatural kindness almost constantly. You know that feeling when a friend gives you a card or a gift just because or your spouse makes you coffee before you asked? That moment where you just get BLESSED for no reason other than you are loved. That’s how I felt in NYC.

A few instances of blessedness: (Is that a word?)

OR

The Top10 Ways God showed His KINDNESS to us in New York City:

10)    Beautiful Weather (as stated before)

9)      Feet power – I walked longer than I’ve walked in a long, long time. In the city, you take the subway, but you also walk - a lot. We explored and my feet, although burning at the end of each day, held up wonderfully. The power of Dr. Soles? No. At the risk of being just a bit too clever and cheesy, it was the power of the Doctor of our Souls! :0)

8)      Getting Lost – We were trying to find the Empire State Building and walked toward the Chrysler building. About half way there, we discovered our mistake. Turning around, I asked in jest, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” (The old joke) Some guy walking past us yelled, “Practice!” :0)

7)      The Joy of Discovery – We were looking for Rockefeller Center and walked by a huge majestic church. To my delight, it was Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and it was open to look around. Wonderful surprise!

6)      A Brush with Greatness - During our NBC tour, Matt Lauer walked by us and I screamed, “MATT – WE LOVE YOU!” He turned to our group and locking eyes with mine, said “Thank you.” It may seem a fleeting moment to many, but to me, it was as if he and I bonded for life. :0) Made me think of a line my single lady friends used to use in jest…sort of: “Hi – it’s not just a greeting, it’s a commitment!” :0)

5)       Entertainment – After much discussion and budget crunching, we decided as a family to go see “The Blue Man Group.” It was wonderful and we laughed ‘til we cried. Noah’s a percussionist so he especially loved it. Afterward, we ate at a little diner that turned out to feel completely New York from the accents surrounded us to the deli style everything to the two Mafia bosses I thought sat near us. :0) I loved it!

4)      Irony - The noise of the city is LOUD and the honking is continual. So when we saw a sign that said “No Honking - $350 Fine” we laughed and took a picture! :0)

3)     Being old fashioned tourists – We went up to the Observatory deck in the Empire State Building, took a carriage ride in Central Park, saw the Statue of Liberty and walked up and down Wall Street and of course experienced a hair rising taxi ride – scary but fun!

2)      Remembering 911 and Learning from my Boy – We visited the World Trade Center area and the 911 Memorial. It was extremely surreal and interesting. But we all thought we would feel more during our visit. During our discussion of this afterward, Noah offered such a wonderful insight, “They talked more about what the memorial is going to look like after it’s all finished than what happened on 911.” It’s true. At the Flight 93 memorial, panels told the story as we walked up to the memorial. The one in New York assumed you knew what happened. And of course, who wouldn’t? But not revisiting the events lessened the emotional impact for us.

1)     MY FAVORITE MOMENT OF NEW YORK and the number one way God poured His Kindness on me: As I walked up the stairs of the subway the first time and came out on the 42nd street, I was overwhelmed. The buildings truly scraped the sky, the energy of people and taxis and tourists and overall stimuli dizzied me and the feeling of walking into Times Square for the first time caused me to laugh and squeal like a giddy little girl. I LOVED IT! And I was reminded of that verse in 1 Corinthians 13 that says “Now we see dimly as in a mirror but then we shall see face to face.” For so many years I’ve seen New York City dimly through TV and movies and books. At that moment I saw it for myself face to face and it was overwhelmingly joyful. How much more, HOW MUCH MORE, will I be knocked off my feet in dizzy laughter and joy-filled giddiness when I finally see my Lord face to face? What a KIND God we serve!!