Horizon

New York is a city of possibilities.  Anything you can imagine, good and bad, rich and poor, complete and lacking is present in one or more of the five boroughs.  As one walks the streets, travels the subways, and sits on the corner to watch life go by, the show is incredible!  Displays of all kinds, types, and sizes travel beside, behind, and ahead of your own steps.  In the middle of the chaos which this community has accepted as “normal” it is easy to get lost.  There are far too many things going on!  Everything seems to be out of control.  Nobody seems to fit within the boundaries or follow the rules.
 
One wonders how to stay stable and grounded.  The message often is, similar to the mantra repeated by fair sailors everywhere; keep you eyes on the horizon.  Don’t get caught up in things going on around your feet.  Be very careful of being trapped in stale air.  Don’t let your eyes get caught in the immediate.  Always remember where you are while being careful of the things going on around you. 
 
There should be no doubt in your mind or mine of the world in which we live.  Uncertainty, fear, and pain haunt every life.  Disaster can strike without warning, provocation, or justification.  Nothing can or should be taken for granted.
 
Yet in the midst of all this and more, beauty, love, and opportunity abounds.  Gifts of compassion show up when you least expect them.  Acts of unmerited mercy are given without thought of recompense.  Creative acts of beauty are birthed as naturally as flowers blossoming under the sun’s warmth and protection. 
 
I can see Hope being stronger than pain.  I can visualize the horizon Hope brings into focus.  I know that when we get there, “on that day, Jesse's Root will be raised high, posted as a rallying banner for the peoples.  The nations will all come to him. His headquarters will be glorious.” (Isaiah 11.10)  The only question is what happens between then and now.  This is our time for action.