train = man?

every subway line makes me feel different kinds of emotions:

7 - most reliable train. ever. completely consistent. it's just always there for you when you need it. the problem is, you don't want it that often... and even when you do get on it, it's just not that attractive or clean... and full of immigrants from Flushing.

N - when i see that the N is coming, it fills me with such great relief (because the N is the only one that always takes me to Queensboro Plaza). also very clean, new, and attractive seating arrangements. but at the same time, the N causes such great distress and disappointment when it shuts down or doesn't go across the east river... this inconsistency creates a love/hate relationship.


R - i just hate the R. in fact, it makes me angry to just see it. it's old, fugly, and doesn't take me home. except on the rare occasion when i'm traveling within the city or when i need to take it to Queens... then it's okay.. i guess~

6 - consistent on weekdays but so gosh-darn packed that it's frustrating to try and squeeze on it. however, it will take you up and down and all around the eastside. so i feel very comfortable with this train... the 6, what a manwhore.

J/Z/G - completely foreign... can be cause for adventure or utter failure. TBA

E - unexpected.


so, then, which type of train is my favorite? the stable 7 that will never fail me but just isn't that likeable? or the clean, chic N/Q that isn't reliable but fills me with a rollercoaster of highs and lows?

for now, i say that consistency beats out attractiveness and gusto. at least i know it will meet all expectations and take me where i need to go!!!

my brother's testimony

updated


"The Portmandeu of Dr Killermanjaro and His incessant Maelstrom of Love and everlasting Redemption" by Daniel Kim

        My first GNC service was more than two years ago but my conversion began very recently. For a long time, I attended service only now and then, when I felt I really owed it to God after an especially sinful week or when I really needed his help. For a large part of my life, I had a painful and self-destructive hunger in me that worldly frivolities would only temporarily subside. 

      In darkness and with an unclear mind, I would cry out to God with the hope that he would take pity and fix me. I always came to God for redemption, but I did not recognize him in joy. My spiritual life was selfish in the reasons I wanted God, this was clear to me my entire Christian life. What I have realized more recently is how selfish I also was in the WAY that I interacted with him. For quite some time, I had the same misgivings about the congregation that many non-believers have, and so I didn't pray with the church. Instead, I withdrew from community and sought God's grace in times of fear, desperation, and deep isolation, alone in my room at night. In my desperate search for that one on one relationship with God, I failed to witness how he was using the people in my life to speak to me. 

      We all know what wind is, how it works and how it feels. But wind can never be seen by itself; it can only be seen through the dust, the leaves, and the clouds that move at its whim. As I have truly opened my heart to God, I have seen more and more how important it is to know him through his people. And in serving him with my Christian brothers and sisters, my eyes have been opened to how his spirit moves the lives of the people around me. 

      God's love is so great and his blessings are all around us. As I have accepted these truths, God has filled my heart with so much love and joy. Through His love I have been able to recognize everyone around me as my brothers and sisters. And now there is no cultural divide, no social status, language barrier, or income bracket that can keep me separate from His children. Through his people, God has brought me such peace, joy, and courage that I am no longer afraid to speak my mind or show people my heart. The people that I have shared my story with can attest to how much God has changed and truly blessed my life in recent months. 

      I pray that my friends would be moved by how much God has blessed me and be inspired by the great things he is doing in my life. And it is my sincerest hope that EVERYONE at GNC would commune with one another and recognize how important the people around them are to understand and love our God. And in doing so, also realize what a blessing that they themselves are to the rest of the congregation. We are part of an intricate web, each strand strengthening the other, working together to glorify our Lord, who binds us forever in love and redemption.