The Gift of Life....

Ever heard the saying, "I wept because I had no shoes until I saw a man with no feet" ? Well as human beings there are situations we sometimes find ourselves in this journey called life and beleive its the worst of all situations and no one else has ever been in such.Well the interesting truth is, yours can never be the worst case or the first nor last there would be.Which is why we should always make it a habit to thank God for all situations.When I returned from Britain, I dreamt and prayed I would get a job in Abuja where I could drive to work in my nice car from the comfort of my Daddy's big house with tap water, a water heating system, water purifier, a standby generator, an in door gym, cable - and all the comforts you can think of.Fortunately and Unfortunately , I ended up getting an interesting job in Lagos and with a heavy heart, I packed my bags barely a month after my return from the land of the queen and relocated.I came to Lagos with many fears and assumptions and beleive me the first month wasn't easy.First was the filth, the rains, waking up early, rushing to catch the bus, the agression, the area boys , the crazy okadas and worst of all the accomodation.After searching for a decent and affordable place to stay for months while I was hanging at my uncle's place, I and my cousin finally found a mini flat. I still remember the day we went to inspect the place , I shook my head and said to my sister and cousin, "I dont like this filthy place and cant live here!".

Any way, I ended up moving in there with my cousin who is the same age as me and we did some serious work on the flat despite the environment.Even at that, we still grumble at the leaking roof and bath tub which the landlord has refused to fix and has caused us to turn our living room to a living room in the day and an emergency bedroom every night where we stretch out on my red (my favourite colour) rug with blankets to sleep.When we moved in there we had no chairs all we had was just the rug and the Television, until our neigbour moved out and gave us his blues chairs which nicely complemented my red rug!We pay the Hausa Abokis to fill our drums with water everyday as we have no flowing water, when NEPA strikes, we only have my torch light or candle light to give us light,I cant drive in this crazy town, so everyday I have to take an okada and a bus to and from work and as I love shoes and spend good money on them I cant afford to get them ruined by walking up and down these bad roads, well I have adapted to the Lagos style of carrying them in my tote bag and putting them on when I get to the office while I do my okadaing and bus chasing with comfy slippers!The gym closest to me is too far away , so I try to take brisk walks with my cousin some Saturday mornings to stay healthy. The last time we went for a walk, I took time to obeserve the little world around me.The rift between the rich and the poor and places people call home some are actually wooden shacks or zinc structres.I agree that I am very far away from the luxuries I am used to and have to endure the occasional frustrations I cant avoid, but you know what? It doesnt make me a lesser person than I have always been as I am still me and still surrounded by the little things and colours I love. Which does not mean, We are not looking for a better and cleaner place to live but I have learnt to appreciate God more and the little gifts of life because there are people out there who have never known better and might never have the opportunity. I am grateful for the gift of life and know that things would eventually fall into place. Its just a matter of time.....Please take a look at the environment some people call home...