Some UN conference was going on last week it seems…
I work relatively close to the UN and the amount of security in the area was a tad over-indulgent.
Walking to work last Monday from Grand Central there appeared to be police officers at every intersection. Police sirens were continually sounding as another convoy travelled to or from the UN. Men in dark suits and dark glasses were also hanging round trying their best to look intimidating.
There were signs on the roads near to the hotel where (I think) Obama was staying stating that by ‘entering this area’ (this area being reasonably big) you were giving your ‘permission’ to be searched at any given point. Not sure how fair this was if, like many people, you had to access these streets for work etc. And in fairness you couldn’t actually get to the hotel in question even if you wanted to as the actual road was completely blocked off with about a million police and secret service standing guard.
One of the most laughable characters was a bossy secret service officer who was walking around with a flak jacket proudly proclaiming ‘Secret Service’. I couldn’t help but think that he was anything but ‘secret’.
On two occasions I was leaving the office for a walk at lunchtime and found that 50th street was being blocked off by the police. The first time I was a little confused but then came to realise that Obama’s motorcade was coming through. I was expecting quite a lot of security but was not prepared for the sheer amount of police motorbikes, police cars, secret service vehicles and an ambulance as well as the three central cars of which one was carrying the man himself. I have to admit I felt quite chuffed seeing the big man on two occasions, although to be fair it was only a momentary glance through the window of his car!

To take a more serious turn for a bit I had an unexpected experience on the subway on Sunday evening. To cut a long story short I found myself in a conversation about Jesus with a woman I had never met before. However, unlike conversations like this that I’ve had before, this one took me way, way out of my comfort zone. For a start I would never normally communicate to a complete stranger on the subway, especially since I’ve unfortunately got into the habit of zoning out whenever people come on begging for money or attention. The woman I found myself talking to was clearly suffering emotionally. She had apparently been sleeping rough recently and wasn’t in the best of shape. She told me that she was trying to have faith in Christ and was trying to believe, but that due to current circumstances she was struggling to have any belief at all. I haven’t been exposed to many situations like this before, especially not within the confined and populated space of a subway car, so my initial reaction could well have been to panic, to have forced the window open and jumped out of the subway train. However, retrospectively, I was not alone in this conversation as I somehow found words to explain as well as I could that despite the challenges life can create, God’s love is still supreme and always with us even if sometimes the trials of life seem to create an alternate reality. Her questions continued and I tried my best at answering them, not knowing how good my answers were, but nonetheless striving to trust that the situation was in the hands of the man upstairs. Things were bizarre enough but then when I changed trains at Union Square she followed and I somehow found myself praying with her. There is absolutely no way that I can credit this to myself. For a start I was praying for a woman that I didn’t know on the middle of the platform of a busy subway station, a situation that I simply cannot believe I had the guts to partake in. I was in way out of my depth and yet somehow coped. The only explanation I can give is that God was behind it all.
We both got the next train and then at Fulton Street Station we departed – her name was Cathy and although I may never see her again she had made a huge impact on my current situation.
Through this I have been stunningly reminded of the absolute and unmistakable sovereignty of God. Despite my weakness and inclination to avoid awkward situations I was somehow used by Him in a situation decades from my comfort zone. I don’t know what plans God has for Cathy but I trust in Him and know that whatever happens He is in absolute control.