Not gonna lie... This city is New. unYielding. and Crazy. Crazy packed, crazy busy, crazy pretty cool, and just crazy. Taylor Swift's song "Welcome to New York" pretty much sums it up. I've only been here a week and it's been fun, but it's insane. The air rings with car horns and sirens, the streets literally buzz with swarms of people, and even underground NY (the subway) is roaring. You'll be walking along the street and all of a sudden you hear the trains rushing underneath your feet through the vents. And if you're not careful, tasks as simple as texting and walking will get you run over by a taxi or by a that crazy swarm of people I mentioned earlier.. which are going about the same speed.. I'm not sure which one would be worse... With everything in New York, theres a theme that seems to permeate its way of life. Purpose. Your walking, your route, even down to your groceries– because Whole Foods is so packed that if you don't know what food to buy or which register to go to when they call the number, you may just get ran over by a shopping cart. Or even better, a person pushing/pulling their shopping cart.. Talk about a CULTURE shock. Having a purpose seems to be a pretty big theme in NY, and it's different for everyone. For some people it's that they can finally love whoever they want to love, for some it's money, for others it's their education, or climbing their way up the social ladder, maybe it's even landing their dream job or succeeding in their career. But, I think there's a more important and bigger purpose that's echoing throughout NYC. And I think that's Gods purpose for the city. And if I've learned anything from my time being discipled at Biltmore Baptist Church, one of God's purposes is being a church that's for the city. And luckily, God has blessed Manhattan with several great congregations of people. Today, (alongside my roommate and her boyfriend) I got to experience Hillsong, NYC, which reminded me so much of home. The people there were warm, unlike some New Yorkers (hate to say it, but it's true), considerate, and so helpful. They meet in the Manhattan Center, which is part of a hotel. Thousands of volunteers come early to set things up and stay late tear things down for their 6 services they have on Sundays. They have connect groups that meet all over the city. For the first time while being in NYC, I felt a bit at home. And to me, that shows that the church is what it's supposed to be. Welcoming, inviting, graceful, yet truthful. I think I know where I'll be spending my Sunday mornings ;) (another plus, it doesn't hurt that it's one express train away either ha jk, but so seriously). I'm not sure when or where my purpose in NYC will come into play, but I feel like God has me here for some reason (other than school. As He's often done, He's used things like school to get me places he wanted me to be, and then made it completely secondary). I mean come on, He made it SO easy for me to get up here (after months and months of prayer and guidance). My acceptance into the grad school I wanted to go to, my housing, what little I needed to bring, the price of my apartment, the location of my apartment, my sweet chill roommate. When I could have been stuck in some awful part of NY, with some awful roommate, and a crappy apartment. GOD BLESS. <3 In this transition, I've gotta trust in my experiences of God being faithful and sovereign. He is GOOD, and He is love.
If I could ask one thing from whomever reads this, it would be that you would say a simple, long, short, specific, or basic prayer for me. For my direction, peace, for His will to be done by me, whatever that is, and for fun! This journey is wild, and I wanna make the most of it.
Stay tuned!
If I could ask one thing from whomever reads this, it would be that you would say a simple, long, short, specific, or basic prayer for me. For my direction, peace, for His will to be done by me, whatever that is, and for fun! This journey is wild, and I wanna make the most of it.
Stay tuned!