Feeling good about life.

I posted a couple of entries yesterday about a silly trial I was going through. I feel a million times better today. I'm not a writer so my posts don't always reflect exactly how I feel. I want to change that. I want my readers to know exactly how I'm feeling and not have to guess what I mean. Today I feel inspired, supported, loved, and accepted. The future is bright and full of opportunity. Some great friendship possibilities have come to pass from yesterday's glum. A blessing in disguise really.

Isn't it amazing how someone can be right in front of you, and it takes a miracle to notice them? It shouldn't surprise me because I have had this sort of thing happen before. Sometimes it's the people you least suspect that change your life in the biggest ways. Sometimes it's people you don't even know who change your life.

When I was in Mexico, I was helping carry food, clothing and other supplies to a nearby community. I was only thirteen at the time and a young women's group from Mesa, AR was staying with us for a project. I had never really looked forward to this sort of thing in the past. I had yet to learn how to truly love people just because they are God's children. I always just waited in the van before. I felt sorry for them, which is why I helped but I didn't care about them. I didn't think about them after we left or wonder where their food would be coming from the rest of the month. But this time, one of the girls from Mesa asked me to come and help her. I got out and walked around the van and there she was playing soccer with one of the children She said they needed a goalie. I didn't really want to, but I did it anyway and my life has never been the same since. Something changed in me that day. I saw children who have nothing more than a ragged shirt on their backs as the happiest little kids in the world. I saw parents struggling to provide a shelter for them. They built their "homes" out of whatever materials could be found while walking around the streets. Sometimes it was plastic wrap and cinderblocks. Sometimes cardboard. The lucky families had leftover building materials from abandoned construction along the beach. But I didn't pity them anymore. I respected them. These families had nothing, yet everything. They were happy, kind, and loving. Every time I came back after that, I always made a point to play with the children. To care for whatever needs they had. It was no longer an obligation. I wanted to be there even more than I wanted to be with my friends or family. Leaving Mexico permanently and heading back to Alabama was painful. I miss it to this day. I miss the place who made me the person I am today. I miss the people, the culture, the food. I miss it all.