New York, New York

July 2, 2007

I think that I must be confident in what I do. ("Be strong + courageous" said the Lord in Joshua 1) That is particularly hard in a city (NYC) where the city's values slowly becomes your values and the city's nature slowly becomes your nature. It would be easy for one to yield to an attitude of "F*ck this, f*ck that" (I am afraid of using the ugly word) when there is a 5 min. window to walk to the subway while thousands of others await your presence in a tall and looming, steel-framed concrete structure; and what is in your way at the very moment is a small dog, leashed to its impudent owner. There is the great challenge of seeing Christ in the strangely appealing rush of city life. Conversely, as with the young man languishing on capers and salmon in the evening air, accompanied by a good friend, what other care in the world could you have? There is simply no time for such long-term, everlasting pursuits!

I am staying, very comfortably, on the upper west side with my good friend. This trip is much less harried and stressful than the one to Madison because I am actually situated for a few days. My friend called me a nomad -- it is really hard to track me down, and for myself, it's difficult to find my bearings. I am disoriented.