Big

New York is a big city full of big things.  The City includes big buildings, concert halls, studios, people, and most of all ideas.  It’s easy to be overwhelmed.  Walk through Times Square on Broadway and imagine the great plays which have and are being staged on your left, right, and just ahead.  Sit by the clock in the center of Grand Central at rush hour; expect a “wow” experience.  Walk down Park, Madison, 3rd, 5th, and 6th Avenues and you pass many if not most of the captains of American industry.  The scope of New York includes musicians, artists, chefs, doctors, and leaders of all types.  When they talk others listen. 
 
It’s easy to be awed.  Yet once you step beyond that the most amazing part of New York begins to emerge.  This is a city where people engage in growth and change!  Ideas and techniques are the fodder of conversation, reflection, and exploration.  The titans can and do interact with others.  It is as if there is a symbiotic relationship nourishing the ideas, supporting the performances, and playing the role of catalyst in personal relationships.  This city isn’t about being awed; it is about engagement, participation, and living!
 
Yet for all the city offers, most fail to take advantage.  In the midst of the busyness and hassle, people are consumed.  I find taking the time doesn’t make things worse however the decision to stop, reflect, and engage on a different level is a decision that doesn’t demand my attention unless I simply give it.  As I reflect on the choices facing me today I begin to understand one writer’s diary.  “God spoke strongly to me, grabbed me with both hands and warned me not to go along with this people.  He said: ‘Don't be like this people, always afraid somebody is plotting against them.  Don't fear what they fear.  Don't take on their worries.” (Isaiah 8.11, 12)
 
We live in big times surrounded by big demands.  A big God is here, yet to see and engage required our attention.  Our choice gives attention birth