Hope for New York

From Monday through Friday 9 to 5, my goal is to get from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. I am on the first train, first car and stand closest to the door facing my stop. I take the fastest elevator up, avoid the talkers, slow walkers and women carrying big bags. My photo ID at hand to flash it without missing a beat, I am in the office on the dot.

I figured I would shed some light in efficient management by volunteering for the Angel Tree Christmas party. The morning set up was easy enough, but things quickly got chaotic when the mothers and their clinging tots entered the doorway in front of me. Where to put the strollers, why their names are not on the list, is there enough seat... I was being slowed down. Both Spanish and English were being thrown at me and my formal Spanish was of no use here.

I lost control but God took over the situation. There were enough seats for the parents and the kids. The line for food seemed incredibly long, but there was more than enough pizza and soda for even second helpings. The break-dancer was amazing and quieted the kids instantly. While laughing, screaming, talking all at the same time, the kids answered back when the puppets in the puppet show asked them questions. The gift giving afterwards was simply a flurry of excitement. Amazingly, everyone in the program was provided for.

Just when I breathed a sigh of relief, a man stepped up to the microphone. This man had been in jail in the previous year. He had grown up in the neighborhood and was a thief. While in jail, he asked the prison chaplain to make sure his daughter was invited to an Angel Tree party. He wanted her to receive a Christmas gift like other kids and also wanted her to know that he loved her, missed her and wished her a Merry Christmas.

He was out of jail now and wanted to see what the Angel Tree party was all about. He came with his daughter, a beautiful girl of 12 years old. She helped out with the soda distribution and explained about other Angel Tree programs in Spanish. She was not fast or efficient, but she stopped to talk to people and there was a joy in her face. She listened to her dad's testimony, and later held his hand to make sure people knew she was his daughter.

God, not took control of the chaotic situation, but met the real needs of the people at the party, parents, kids and volunteers all alike. God opened and healed the heart of this man and allowed him to get a new start in life, to tell his neighbors that he was sorry for what he had done, to tell them that there is another way to live life. God met all our needs and He never went through the fastest line to get there.