Summer in a New York Minute...

It's hard to believe that in 2 days I'll be leaving New York and in 4 days I'll be home...summer has gone by incredibly fast. I feel like I just got here! It'll be weird to be home and to adjust back to a normal schedule. I just wanted to share, though, some more on the things I've experienced this summer...

First...subway performances...
1 hip hop dance crew
2 Michael Jackson cover artists
4 Mariachi Bands
3 R&B groups
3 barbershop quartets
2 3-person bongo playing groups (they brought their drums and small chairs onto the car with them)
1 free styling poet
and 1 man who started out singing a precious love song about two people in love and then proceeded to transition into "if you think I'm sexy and you want my body...come on baby let me know..." (I had to turn away I was laughing so much at this transition)
This is not to mention all the performers who perform out on the platform, from tap dancers, to singers, to musicians with their instruments...even someone playing a saw....

On a more serious note I have actually learned some things...not so much about what it is I'm supposed to be doing with my life, but more about myself. I learned I don't have as much patience as I thought I did and its something I need to definitely work on. I learned sometimes I have trouble delegating because I'd rather just do a job to my satisfaction and have it done my way, and I can't always do that. I need help sometimes. I know my faith has grown and that God gave me the groups I had on purpose to teach me those things and to keep me focused on Him. I got to see God working in my friend Jody's life and I'm so blessed to be able to live with this year as we both adjust to normalcy. I can't wait to see what other plans He has, but as usual He is constantly reminding me of His timing.

I was humbled this summer as I came in contact with so many people from so many different walks of life, some who from looking at their situation you would assume them to have far less faith but seem to have much more than me. It is easy to praise God when things are good, but it is difficult in the storm. I had no control in what family and situation I would end up in. How did I end up so blessed? Most New Yorkers spend more than half their income on rent, leaving little money left for food and other necessities. It takes a great deal to put one's pride aside and get in line at a soup kitchen for a meal. Who am I to judge why they're here? 76% of people living in the New York shelter system are families, many with jobs, but not able to make ends meet because the cost of living is so high. I feel like there's something wrong with that. I want to help all of them. I want all the of the kids to get to go to good schools and get good educations and see that there are so many opportunities outside of their neighborhoods. Where do I fit in? I don't know yet, so I have to wait and see where God takes me next.