Thursday, January 20, 2011

God lives in NYC.

We’re home again, home again, jiggety jig! It was a fantastic trip…. I had 4 full days of my hubby all.to.myself. Peeps, that = Heaven for me. I have tons and tons of pictures to share, but this is the story I’ve been dying to tell:

This was Andrew’s first trip to NYC, so we were hitting all the spots that everyone has to see. I had been to Ground Zero this summer, but I headed back down there again to go with Andrew. It was so difficult to be there the first time…. I was with my bff, and we were both very emotional after our visit… This time was a very different experience. As Andrew and I neared the site I was completely overwhelmed with emotions. I stood there with MY rock. MY love. MY life on earth. I began thinking of all those daddies and husbands who were running those streets that morning trying to get away from the collapsing buildings, and I couldn’t IMAGINE how they felt….how their wives felt not KNOWING the fate of their spouses, and they were the lucky ones…whose husbands came home. 

Andrew went in St. Paul’s Chapel to spend some quiet moments. I didn’t go in last time and wasn’t aware of all the things inside. We walked around and read about how much this Chapel meant to everyone who came through it’s doors…the tired. the weak. the hungry. the spiritually exhausted and how they were renewed in THIS place. In God’s house. It didn’t matter their religion or beliefs. They all walked into HIS house and found peace.  I was just overwhelmed with emotion and had to sit down and pray immediately. I can’t even tell you what I prayed in that place. It was the most jumbled rambling prayer I’ve ever said, but I knew God understood what I was saying. I was just so thankful. So thankful. In all that evil and madness….destroyed buildings for blocks… carnage everywhere… And here right across from those towers this St. Paul’s Chapel stood strong and brave. God knew the minute this Chapel was built the role it would play hundreds of years later. He KNEW that His House was needed here more than anyone could imagine. He knew the need we would all have to find His presence in the middle of Hell, even those who didn’t know what they were looking for.

God lives in NYC.  Even though this world is filled with hate, madness, and evil HIS presence CAN not be banished. HE is always here…. Even when we wander off to go our own ways He is always here waiting for us to come back. There is no bigger comfort in the world to me than this fact. I felt God the minute I walked through those chapel doors and felt closer to Him than I had in a long time. He gave me Peace. The peace only He can give, and it changed me…. It changed the way I felt about a lot of things and reminded me of ALL the people and things in my life I have to be thankful for.  He used that chapel to bring me back closer to Him….. It’s funny. Right before we left for NYC I told Andrew that “I miss Jesus”. That may sound like a funny statement…. I KNOW Jesus is always here… He wasn’t the one who had wandered. It was me, and I experienced such a longing for my Savior… the NEED for Him to be the center of my universe….the driving force behind every decision and move I make. It’s time to rededicate my life. We are going to start visiting other churches and find the one that’s HOME for us… I haven’t had that since we moved almost 2 years ago…. it’s a LONG story, but the girls’ adoptions changed our lives in SO many ways…. I’m just now feeling more normal and able to handle the things I want and need to…. It’s all a God thing….. He shows us the way when we need it, and He found me again in NYC. God is awesome like that. God lives everywhere.

DSCN2047

DSCN2050

DSCN2054

DSCN2062

Love you peeps,

2 comments:

Tonya Boster said...

Aww Lou, so happy for you. Tears were streaming down my face reading about your experience and how God showed himself to you in NYC. Will be praying for you as you all look for a church home and a renewed relationshipe with Christ..and be on your guard, you know satan doesn't like it when we are trying to live for Christ. So get back satan and leave Lou Lou alone.

Julie Harward said...

I can tell you...he is REAL...and he loves you and your family. He has brought you together as a family and you are to be a forever family. He always knows where we are and he never gives up, never on us coming back to him. On my side bar are sites where you can ask any question and get answers, I would love to see you sincerly seek and ask, he will answer you. :D

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails