Here we are at Day #9 already! I didn’t think I’d be saying this, but I will be happy tomorrow when Day #10 is written and posted, and we are finished… Today I’m posting my friend Melody’s essay. She is spontaneous, like she says, and that makes her a fun friend to have! And she is so ready and willing to help out those who aren’t as blessed as she is…

Two Words That Describe My Life

by Melody

I don’t know exactly where to begin with words to describe myself. Maybe spontaneous since I like to believe that I am. After all, the very fact that I’m writing this right now proves that. I like to think that the spontaneous things are the best things. Like going shopping with a friend on the spur of the moment. Or inviting friends over with no fore thought. But then sometimes my wonderful, spontaneous ideas trap me in long term consequences. Like deciding one day that I’m going to go get my GED. That decision trapped me into studying for months. But maybe those decisions are still some of the best after all.

I think the single word that has the most impact on my life is blessed. I know it sounds cliché and all, but did you ever take time to stop and list every single one of your blessings? It’s really overwhelming. I was blessed enough to take two trips to Sicily, Italy this year and am now planning to move there for three months! The refugees there are from Africa and after learning to know them and hearing some of their stories I have realized more than ever – I am incredibly blessed. Why am I the one who is privileged to have had a nice comfortable house to live in all my life when they struggled without a decent house and no money to build one? And then when they tried to find a better life all they found was more hardship? Why am I the one who still has my whole family while many of theirs died on the way? And when I have lived in Italy for three months I can hop on a plane and fly home; many of them left their families behind and there’s no way they can go back to them. I have freedom. I am a citizen of United States and can come and go as I wish; they would give so much to be able to set foot in America. They are stuck where they are placed and are moved around at the whim of other people. I can even cook myself a meal if I want while they don’t even have that option. They would love to cook themselves a meal. I have a job and can earn money which is something that they would love to do. Partly because they don’t have Italian citizenship. Which also means that they need to apply for citizenship. But what would happen if they got denied? Well getting denied three times means you get sent back where you came from! I have plenty of clothes to wear. I have everything I need. Really, do I have ANY reason to be ungrateful? But there is one thing we have in common. They love God. Even across the miles we serve the same God. When I listen to them pray and hear them praise God even through all they’ve been through I am awed. They have a much better understanding of how blessed they are than I do. God has been there through their roughest moments. He has been with me too. And shouldn’t that be enough to count myself blessed?