Just Be Thankful For What You Got

It is World Refugee Day, and time to emerge from my fatigue-created fog of the past week and take stock.

Truth be told, I've done a bit of wallowing since I got back from Kampala Tuesday night. I was so exhausted I couldn't see straight, and just wanted to burrow into a sand dune on Zanzibar's Kendwa beach for a few weeks. But a few million things were waiting for my "input and consideration" here in Nairobi, and all of a sudden it felt like I was running on fumes.

I won't bore you with details, but it culminated in me sprawled out on the couch Friday evening, after a Skype chat with one of my ICFJ bosses, and lapsing into a minor bout of self pity. I was hungry, but didn't feel like cooking, tired, but not able to sleep, alone but not willing to admit to being lonely. I decided to catch up my Columbo DVD's with the Dutch subtitles, which I'd finally retrieved from storage with a friend in Kampala. But I wound up drifting off to sleep half way into 'em, and having to start from the beginning once I woke up again.

Then I remembered there was a slice of chocolate mousse cake in the fridge, which was the natural accompaniment for the bag of Orville Redenbacher Natural Popcorn I'd had for
"dinner." That was around 3 am. After a few more fitful hours of quasi sleep, I woke up with a mild case of indigestion and thought about another long day of "stuff" to do, and none of it was gonna make me feel like I was accomplishing anything important.

So thank God for the CNN report on World Refugee day that just aired. It really helped snatch me up out of the funk I was poised to nosedive into. It made me remember all the shocking, gutwrenching trips I've taken to refugee camps in the past few years. It also helped remind me of the "homes" the kids at PCEA Muniu have lived in for the past year and a half. It helped get my priorities back in order.

And it brought back some lyrics I hadn't thought about in ages:

"Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac,

(Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin' the scene with a gangsta lean)

Gangsta whitewalls, TV antenna in the back.

You may not have a car at all,

But remember, brothers and sisters, you can still stand tall.

Just be thankful for what you got."

So I'm thankful for the Oasis of Graciousness, and for all the blessings in my life. I hope you are, too.