so i just scrolled through my blog to what i wrote last year about my hopes and dreams for 2010....but again I always see how God has a different plan for me. yesterday, the NYC area was hit with a nasty rain and wind storm, but at the end there was a beautiful peaceful sky with clouds and the sun coming through during sunset....some rainbows were spotted in some areas....we had many storms similar to this throughout the year both literally and figuratively in 2010...so while the year has some 29 days left, i thought it was appropriate to write now after going through yesterday's storm.
the year started off on the right track with the theme of renewal. i witnessed a vietnamese girl in her 20s get baptized and this experience moved every cell in body...the acceptance of faith and that Christ is the one who saved us on the cross for our salvation....this raw faith, we lack as those who were 'born' into it from our parents. i am very lucky to be a christian however, I dont appreciate it or lose faith easily....it was an awesome way to start off the year....
Things turned left on Jan 7th, when we learned of the shootings in Naga Hammadi as people were leaving Christmas mass, followed by a shattering earthquake to hit the countries of Haiti and Chile....the month of January which started off as a theme of renewal, quickly turned into a huge unknown. I was overwhelmed by these events happening one after the other...more storms were to hit later on in the year between talks of wars, the Gulf oil leak, more persecution of Christians in the Middle East, and other events. This was the storm of the year in terms of current events.
On the home front, there is another storm brewing....the storm of busyness, and disconnection from each other. I had the opportunity to leave NY at three points to El Paso, St. Thomas/St. John and Spain. I met people in all three places which embodied one theme--Simplicity. El Paso is not exactly heaven on earth...it is the frontline on the war on the Mexican drug cartels...I was told not to go out at night...but in general life there is simple without the crime and the food was delicious. While visiting St. Thomas, I took a day tour of the island of St. John which is 60-70% uninhabited....our tour guide's name was Charlie. What a simple man....along the way he stopped at random trees and fed us fruits straight from the trees...nothing like what we have here in NYC...but what struck me the most was his happy and simple personality...as he drove us around, he blasted carribbean music, but listening carefully to it, it was Christian music...He praised God during his job and wanted to spread his joy to others....I was touched by this.... Then as you saw in my previous post on el sabor was my day in the mountains...again i saw simplicity. Coming back to NYC, I had a hard time adjusting because we dont enjoy life and the things God has given to us in a positive way. We have 200 ways of keeping in touch with our tech devices, but the words 'I'm busy' keep coming out....we lack love and simplicity in our lives. So by the end of the year, I've witnessed the breakdown of many friendships within the body of Christ...why is this? We're not touched by Christ's love as the convert was at the beginning of this year....we feel that in the rush of things that no one cares, so if no one cares, why should we care? I hope for 2011 it will be a year of not just renewal in Christ, that we are all touched in someway that awakens us to His love and His healing just like the lady in the Gospel of Luke was cured from bleeding just by the touch of His garb....We need to have that faith that if we want to be healed, we will be healed....
So at the end of the day, this year I believe was the turbulent storm year, I pray that next year is when the rainbows and the beautiful sunsets that bring peace, serenity and hope.
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