Snippets of Serendipity

Being Grateful for the Gift of Today

Grateful

by Julianne

I’m stronger than before
Stronger than I’ll ever be
And I raise my eyes to the One
The One who made me see
All what I thought was lost
But now is found
And I’m grateful
Grateful for the day
You called my name
Ever since You walked into the door
It’s never been the same
Mornings are brighter now
I’m not afraid
And I wake up each day
With a smile on my face
‘Coz I’ve been in places
Where I couldn’t even see
The light of day
And then You came
I’m grateful
You showed me the way back to my beautiful
Everything seems different now
Things are turned inside out
With a new pair of senses to go with around
It doesn’t even matter
If I’m up or down
Blues are bluer smiles are brighter
It draws a tear whenever
I watch the sunsets paint the sky
I don’t even mind walking under the rain
I never laughed like this before
And I’m gonna say it once more

Happy Thanksgiving!! =)

It is a quiet afternoon here, in a quaint suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. It is autumn here, and I write this while looking out the window, seeing the pretty red and gold leaves of the neighborhood against a backdrop of steel gray sky.

My housemates have all gone out, and I have the luxury of having the house to myself. It has been a month since I arrived here in the United States, and after the initial giddy realization of "Finally!! I’m here!", the realness of the situation is sinking in.

Maybe it’s because I still have all this time to think. I don’t want to overreact or anything, I know millions would kill for a chance to come here…It’s just that I remembered something that was said by one of the staff from the company I work with…

"Imagine having to travel all this way just to get a decent job…I can’t imagine ever leaving my family and kids behind. I really admire you guys…"

So why do we do it? Because. This is the road that so many of our countrymen have taken. We often see the success stories, of families making it big here, earning a lot and sending tons of dollars back home. Constructing mansions and acquiring a lot of property and businesses.

What most of us don’t know is, the sacrifices are great and sometimes tragic before the rewards may be reaped. I know, that my and my family’s future will be secure because of this, and I’m thankful to have been given this blessing. I am staying in a beautiful townhouse in one of the top places to live in the United States. But still, it will never be home. You never really understand how it feels like until you ARE in the situation.

It’s easy to say, "Don’t worry, you’ll get over it soon…" But before then, it’s hard not being with people you grew up with. Having to learn to live with people you just met on the plane coming here. It can be quite an adventure, but then it could only be fun for so long.

Soon I will start working. I’m actually looking forward to that so I won’t have time to think about all this stuff. Just work, then go home, do the chores. And hope that everything gets better from there.