Zoom In

 

I grew up in Long Island New York.

The western portion of Long Island consists of urban areas more densely populated with people and buildings. As you move eastward it transforms to the suburbs as you start to see more grass and open areas.

I lived in the center of the Island which was very much the suburbs at the time. When I visit there now I see how the urban tone has spread over the years. Open space has been filled up with apartments or retail space. Roads have been expanded and population density has increased.  

One of the greatest things about Long Island is their railroad system. You can take a train from the suburbs to New York City in about 45 minutes.

When I was a teenager a few of my friends and I would get together and take the train into the city to walk around. It was always an exciting plan as we jumped on the train for our day of adventure.

If you’ve ever been to New York City you know that all of your senses are engaged as soon as you step off the train.

The sounds, the sights, the smells! In the course of 30 seconds you can smell everything from roasted nuts, exhaust, and expensive perfume to urine or some other unidentifiable fragrance.

As you step out on the streets your ears are filled with the sounds of traffic, people, construction, car horns and loud voices. You instantly become part of this huge movement of people as any personal space you once had is replaced by the feeling of other shoulders brushing past you. There’s a feeling of almost being consumed by the crowds moving with deliberate pace all around you.

Then you look up! Everywhere you look are tall buildings shooting to the sky. If you didn’t feel tiny from merely the density of the crowds, the buildings will surely humble your existence.

For some, city life is exciting and life giving. There are people that just thrive in this kind of setting. I am not one of them. Give me tree’s, trails, mountains and nature. That’s what is life giving to me personally. Although a day in the city was fun with friends once in a while, I would always come home physically and spiritually drained.

I felt overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells. I was exhausted by the urgency of everyone’s pace; and I was also struck with a sadness. I didn’t feel like anyone “saw” anyone else.

My father who worked in Manhattan would always say “When you’re walking keep your head up and don’t look anyone in the face.” This was to exude an air of confidence and deter anyone that might get any ideas about mugging you. Yes, that was sometimes a reality of city life (specifically on the subway), but that’s a story for another day.

My point to sharing all this is to share with you the way this loud, busy, smelly, fast moving place, made me feel. When I thought about it one day I came to the realization that the city was much like life at times; a loud, busy, fast moving (sometimes smelly) place.

Life can become a place that makes us feel overwhelmed and maybe even out of place. There can also be an impersonal aspect to it as well. It can be a place where no one looks each other in the face; a place where everyone’s first priority is to get to where they need or want to be.

On one particular day in the city I was not thrilled to be there. Everything seemed to over stimulate my senses and steal any ounce of peace I had in me.

In a moment of feeling overwhelmed I caught sight of something. There was a man lying next to a building in dirty tattered clothing. He had a cup out with hopes for donations. What I had noticed was a woman bending down to put money in the cup and then tapping the man on the shoulder. He opened his eyes to find her handing him a bag of food she had just purchased for him at the fast food restaurant next door.

The man’s face beamed as he looked up at her. She saw him and he saw her. They looked each other in the face and in that moment I felt my heart fill with the warmth of the goodness of God. The immense power in a person truly “seeing” another is aw inspiring. In the middle of this busy, noisy street this woman slowed down long enough to see this man and the joy that brought to him was palpable.

I was quickly jerked back to reality as a street vender yelled “Pretzels! Hot pretzels!” From the smell of things, they were burnt pretzels! Very burnt pretzels!

As I continued to walk past the warm exchange between the woman and the hungry man I started to zoom in more to everything around me. In the midst of the hustle and bustle was a woman rocking her baby at the bus stop. The baby reached up to touch her face and the woman let out a loud joy filled laugh.

An elderly woman struggled to get out of a cab as a man waiting to use the cab next reached out to help her stand.

The more I zoomed in the less overwhelmed I felt by the city around me. I began to see the beautiful details rather than the sometimes peace stealing overview of stimulation that the city can bring.

The world right now for some of us, might feel overwhelming. It doesn’t take skyscrapers, street venders and crowds to make us feel that way at times. Sometimes it’s simply the disconnect of people. Maybe it’s the pace of life or the imbalance of priorities.

What I realized is in that moment, that day, on that city street, is that I had a choice as to what I could focus on. I could let the world around me steel my peace or I could seek out the life giving beauty that co-existed in the chaos.

Just the other day I felt overwhelmed by several different things as I drove home; the bad or sad news of the day along with urgent responsibilities and difficult realities. The sky was cloudy and the rain was coming down all around me as I ran from my car to my front door.

As I scurried to try to stay at least somewhat dry, something caught my eye. In the midst of my front bushes, in the middle of a cold Florida winter, was the biggest, pinkest flower! I actually stopped because I thought someone had stuck it in the bush, but when I looked at it I realized it was one of the flowers from the bush, blooming awkwardly early in the middle of a cold spell.

I got myself inside and as I pulled off my dripping wet coat I had to pause. It was actually this moment that reminded me of the moment in the city that day. The day I realized I had a choice in what I could focus on; on what I could “zoom in” on.

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.”

It didn’t make the bad news or the difficult realities of life go away, but it gave me choices; choices to focus on the blessings around me. For every one joy destroying thought, there is a peace filled observation.

Job 12:7-8 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.”

Look around for those flowers blooming out of season. Notice the warm exchange between strangers or the laugh of a child. In the midst of this sometimes overwhelming world are signs of God all around; signs of His hope and glory. Sometimes all we have to do is “zoom in”.

 

-Pastor Patti