Navigating the New and Different

Last week the Lord provided another one of those "special gifts" for me, in the form of getting to spend a few days with our son, his wife and our 4 sweet grandchildren followed by a surprise 1-day trip to New York City with our son! My husband and I had planned to be gone for only Saturday and Sunday, as my husband had to come home in time for being at work early Monday morning. But I was able to stay on and help out with our grandkids for a couple days, as well as do some cooking, baking, and other things to lighten our daughter-in-law's load. On Wednesday our son was taking his Honor Society students from the Christian school where he teaches Bible on their annual trip to New York City, and he invited me to come with them! I was so excited!

I had a WONDERFUL day in New York City, and experienced more in one day than most people get to see in three days. We took the ferry from Hoboken, NJ, and I got my first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. Our first stop was Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange district, and Federal Hall. That was followed by visiting old Trinity Church ( a National landmark rebuilt in 1846 and also where the movie National Treasure was filmed), and the 9-11 Memorial, which was a highlight of the day for me. After that we walked through both Chinatown and Little Italy, having lunch in Little Italy at the first pizza parlor in New York.

After lunch we boarded the subway for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (which is so huge you could easily spend a couple days just there) which borders Central Park. After spending a couple hours at the art museum we boarded another subway train and then walked to Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center and the NBC Studio building, Radio City Music Hall, and Carnegie Hall. Across the street from Carnegie Hall at the Carnegie Deli we indulged in the best cheesecake I have EVER had, as well as some much-needed coffee! By then it was almost time to begin the subway trek back to the ferry station, but we walked through the Broadway district on our way back to the subway station. An after-dark ferry ride that gave us magnificent views of the city lit up at night completed our day.

All in all, according to my pedometer I walked 10.25 miles. And I felt like it that night!

To someone who is not a "city girl" (I'm not) and had never been to New York (I hadn't), it could be a little scary. Before we arrived I had mixed feelings of excited anticipation and nervousness. I thought of all the bad things that could happen! But once I was there, I absolutely loved it! And as I reflected on the day, much of the reason was due to the excellent guide I had in the form of my son. As someone who has been there many times and has guided many groups through the streets of the city, it was obvious he knew his way around! He knew exactly what sights we needed to see, where they were, and the fastest way to get there. He knew the ins and the outs of things like the subway system and the ferry and buying tickets and keeping ourselves safe. I was amazed at the way he zipped around, took shortcuts, led the students and was such an excellent tour guide. I simply had to trust his knowledge and follow.

As we continue in this season of uncertainty that the Lord has placed us in following the events of this summer, and as I struggle with trusting God (some days more than others), I realize that in the Lord I have the perfect guide and that it's really very simple: if I will just trust Him, He will navigate me through these unknown waters. He knows where I am, and where I am going. I only have to place my faith and trust in Him and realize that I have no reason to fear because He is right there with me. He loves me, He has a plan for me and He will accomplish it.

A verse that has been very familiar to me for many years and that I have memorized and recited many, many times is Psalm 46:10 - "Be still and know that I am God." This week I have broken that verse down phrase by phrase, and as I have meditated on each phrase it has become even more precious to me. "Be still" means to "cease striving." It has the idea of laying down your weapons. It also means to stop fretting and worrying and trying to figure everything out. It means to quiet your soul. "and know" - be absolutely confident in. In what? "that I am God." All that God is and all He does - His wisdom, His power, His goodness, His faithfulness, and more. We can be still, and be absolutely confident in God, because of all He is.

One more thing - when it comes to navigating through the new and different, I wanted to let my readers know that in a couple days I will be starting something else new - a job as an administrative assistant. This is going to be a big change for me, but I know that the Lord is there for me and will help navigate me through this adjustment too, if I trust Him. I hope to continue to have time to keep writing this blog, so please stay tuned! And remember that in your Heavenly Father, you have the best guide possible to navigate you through the new and different.

Love,
Kathi