Mama Dieter

The Band

Me:      "Where do you guys want to go? I've been asking you for like a month and you haven't told me anything!  We are leaving in a few hours, c'mon!"
Grant:  "I don't know."
Me:      "Please, talk to your friends and tell me where you want to go.  I don't want to be in the middle of Time Square with a bunch of teenagers not knowing what or where we should go!"
Grant:   "I think they all want to go to the Nintendo store."
Me:       "Ay, Dios mio!..."

The weeks, days and hours leading to this year's Band trip were full of anxiety for me.  The moment I saw the final itinerary I began to lose it.  "What does this mean?  We are going to be let loose in Time Square in the evening?!!!!  I am so NOT going to survive this trip...sigh..."

I was SO nervous about that "adventure" in Time Square I didn't know how to get a grip.  I am not fond of New York City...so the thought of me leading a group of teens around the congested and colorful streets of Midtown Manhattan was giving me indigestion and heart palpitations.

When the moment for our "free time" in this novelty-filled, billboard lit part of the Big Apple came, I was a wreck.  By then, however, I had had more than 24 hours hanging out with the kids.  Therefore, I had discovered that I was surrounded by a crazy, goofy, fun-loving bunch.  And, although I didn't realize it at the time, I had even had sparks of pure glee in the middle of the mahem.

A rather large group of kids wanted to go to the Nintendo store by Rockefeller Plaza, so we headed that way only to realize, by the time we arrived there, that it was closed!  I mean, REALLY?  I guess they DO sleep in New York City after all?  So after that fiasco, the large group split into several smaller sections, and the Band Director and I stock together with 11 or so kids...wandering into over-priced stores, admiring the lights and crowds, and looking at street performers, hoping some of the jokes would go over the kids' heads!  As the time went by, and I became aware that we were not going to die... I was able to relax and actually enjoy myself...WOW!  But it wasn't until I heard one of the boys from the group, running to me, down the sidewalk, calling me "Mama Dieter, Mama Dieter!" that I realized I was actually loving life!

I don't think he will ever know how much of an impact him calling me "Mama Dieter" had in me.  As I remember the moment, I want to cry of joy...but that was the moment I was able to understand that God is in charge...all the time...even when we want to keep a tight hold of our circumstances...for a good cause: like not losing any of the kids I was chaperoning in NYC!  He's got it.  He knows what He is doing.  If I'd only let go and let Him be God...I could have such an easier and smoother ride...sigh...

We came back to the hotel and shared our chaperoning stories in our room.  That night, I couldn't sleep.  The bright lights of Time Square were still shining inside my eyelids.  The sights, the smells, the action were still too vivid in my mind...as it was the sound of that teen boy calling "Mama Dieter."  In the quiet hotel room, after my roommates had long fallen asleep, in the midst of the hectic pace of my thoughts, ...I praised the Lord for keeping us safe and for allowing me to see His hand in the chaos... steeding me...giving me peace and quieting my fears...for with Him, even the craziness of New York City is tamed by His loving presence and His comforting guidance.

We did make it to the Nintendo store the next day, when we had a bit of time back in that vicinity in the morning before heading to the Lincoln Center...I hauled by myself 11 kids there in record time...after all, I had promised, and they were grateful for it.

Grant loving every minute of it!

NINTENDO STORE TRIUMPH!