Monday Morning

Fog envelopes rooftops and the bare, brown branches rising above them. “The world is quiet here” (Lemony Snicket). The building slumbers, its people off to work and the children to school. I hear the tick of our living room clock, and the elevator going up or down in the hall behind me.

The Lord provided well for our Sunday service. I love to lift my voice in song with people from different states and nations. We agree during discussions of the Word, whether it be in Sunday School or around the lunch table in the fellowship hall. Later in the day, a group of us took the subway to Queens and walked to the river at Hunter’s Point South. It was chilly but there’s a nice view of the Manhattan skyline and the bridges across the East River from the park.

On Friday, I had tea with friends at a Yemeni coffee house. After pouring tea into small cups we set the teapot on a wooden holder with tea light candles in it. We also browsed through an Indian grocery.

Being a part of and exploring the cultures and foods of God’s great world is what I like about living here.

We went from having almost no Tibetans living in NYC to this part of Queens having the largest population – an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 – in the Western world. When I walk the streets, I see Tibetan men and women with their prayer beads. Laurence works with some pleasant Tibetan nurses. We see them come by the hundreds to dance, wearing native dress, in the playground two blocks away. Their restaurants are all around. I just finished reading Eat the Buddha” by Barbara Demick. I want to understand what is happening, why they are here.

A neighbor reports that the Irish man who’d sit in our building lobby has died. He drank too much. Sometimes, it was a trial to take the time to visit with him. The man across the hall died a long time ago. Coca who lived on the first floor is gone. The elderly couple on the second floor both died. The woman with dementia passed away too. We need to always take time for the people of this neighborhood.

We’re all only passing through. Let’s make sure steps for Heaven, letting the Light shine so those that follow will be there.

Berniece