Seven Years, Today
King Fahd International Airport
It was today, seven years ago when I first set foot on the sands of Saudi Arabia with nothing but a hundred dollar bill that my mom pulled together, my passport and the proverbial “suitcase full of hopes and dreams”. Seven years, seven birthdays, seven christmases and seven new years, have gone by and yet I could still vividly call to mind the time when I wasn’t even sure about leaving even up to the moment I was already onboard the plane (for the first time) just waiting for take-off. It was tough for me for it was the first time that I will be totally independent, away from home. All my life, I have lived under the roof of my family- that would be my mom, grandma and my two other half-brothers all 5 of us, bar none.
At first, it was hardly unimaginable to leave the people you will surely miss and the kind of life you grew up with. The fact that you’ll be thousands of miles away from home when you need a shoulder to cry on, or a friend to laugh with or just having a close friend was too much for me to even anticipate. But times were hard back then and I had a failed relationship to run away from so I knew I had to do it! Hoping against hope that this would be a fresh start.
Seven years and two employers later, I still find myself in front of the computer, in an office and what do you know, still in Saudi Arabia. From a meager salary earner to a way better one after another I would say that all those 7 years of pressing on, they were surely not in vain. Although the first few years were still hard, it was a good thing that the Lord gave me the strength to hold on and wait until He opens the door that was meant for me in the infinite sovereignty of His knowledge. So I celebrate this day by thanking the Good Provider for “what do I possess that You did not give to me?”
