"Start spreading the news..." This morning my son and his friends from the Sickles High School band boarded a plane for New York City. They will spend 4 days in the city, seeing the sights and exploring Manhattan. And then on Saturday night they will perform at Carnegie Hall as part of a high school band festival. For a musician, playing Carnegie Hall is like a baseball player playing at Wrigley Field, a chef cooking in Paris or a youth pastor being asked to give the invocation at the Silver Spurs Rodeo (youth pastors have very small dreams...)! What an amazing opportunity- an opportunity they have worked extremely hard to get. You know the old joke, right? How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!!! And they are ready. New Yorkers will be paying $50 a pop to see my son play the crash cymbals and the snare drum. It is possible, I suppose, that they may notice some of the other musicians as well. But just look at him all fancy in his tux. He is bound to steal the spotlight!
I know that Will is going to have an amazing time. I know this because I led nearly 20 trips to NYC during my time as a youth pastor, and I LOVE the city. The fact that Will is going for his first time without me is a bit depressing. It is a reminder that despite the amazing grace given to us by Jesus, sin has consequences. This is one of mine. I cannot be part of Will's first NYC trip as I was for literally hundreds of students his age over the years. But I praise God that we have been given the resources and the opportunity to send Will and his friends and to know that they will experience the joys of a weekend in New York. Teresa Tysinger reminded me yesterday that there will be other trips, and that there will still be many first memories to be made. He will still need to stay at the Milford Plaza. He will still need to eat at Carmine's. He will still need to see Les Miz. He will still need to experience the parts of the city I can show him that this trip will not. As my dear friend Lisa Jewett is quick to point out (over and over and over) I owe her a NYC trip, so we are going back! So today I need to focus on the blessings- both of the day, and of the future, and simply pray for Will and his friends to have the very best trip possible. Join me in that prayer. And since it is #CommentDay, if you have a special memory of a NYC trip, share it! And to see a slide show of pictures from my many trips, check out my New York State of Mind video. Blessings to you all!
Because of Jesus,
God bless the students. I hope everything goes well at Carnegie and that they perform better than their send-off concert.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your prayers. I wasn't at the send off concert, but the band director, students and many parents thought it went very well. But I totally agree- I hope the Carnegie performance is the performance of a lifetime! :)
DeleteHey Big C,
ReplyDeleteDefinitely will keep Will and his friends in my prayers. I would like to add to the list that Will hopefully will also get to see the Carl Shuffle in NYC one day. That was a memorable part of my first trip to NYC and a must see. :) Keeping you and Marilyn in my prayers as well.
Todd
Thanks Todd. The Carl Shuffle has been hidden away for many years now. I had better start practicing! Hope you and your family are well!
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