Note to God

For the past few months, I think the biggest problem I’ve had with myself is my lack of gratitude—the very same thing that’s been keeping me from being happy. But let me change that today. It’s the first day of the second half of the year, so let me begin it with a simple note.

Dear God, I know that all You wanted to hear from me was a simple “thank you,” but let me grab this chance to go over all the blessings that have been coming into my life this year.

Thank You, Lord, for my full-time job at Walgreens and part-time job at Ross. I know that it’s very hard to find a job in this time of recession, but look at me, I have not just one, but two! And I have medical and accident insurance too!

Thank You, Lord, for Jennifer, my kindest co-worker at Walgreens, who would always take time to stop and teach me things. I still get a hard time at Walgreens but Jen is always there to help me. She’s like a little mom to me, and Kassie, a big sister.

Thank You, Lord, for Mr. Alvarado, who hired me at Walgreens just when I most needed a full-time job so that I could move out from my aunt and uncle and get my own place. Thanks also, Lord, for Mr. Alvarado’s kindness (although he can be strict sometimes) and for his generosity when it comes to my working hours. And most of all, thank You, Lord, because even though he could have made me a floater technician, he didn’t. He just let me stay in our home store so I didn’t have to worry about transportation and all. I just had to use my legs and 15 minutes of my lifespan to walk.

Thank You, Lord, I live just a block away from Ross and 3 from Walgreens. My life is so convenient. I live just next to everything: the grocery store, the bank, the mall, fastfoods and restaurants, even salon and dry cleaner. No transportation expenses at all. And if I ever wanted to go anywhere else, the bus stop is just in front of my apartment building. I can even see it from my window.

Speaking of window, Thank You, Lord, for mine is so lovely. The first time I walked into this room when Cynthia showed it to me, the first thing I saw was the window and the beautiful shore beyond it. By then, I already knew I’d take the room and live in it.

Thank You, Lord, for my roommate Cynthia. I know it’s hard to trust people nowadays especially the ones you just meet through the Internet. But that was how we found each other—Craigslist. And she trusted me at once, even though she didn’t know anything about me. I was a complete stranger in her eyes (I could have been a murderer, an ex-convict, a thief, and everything else), yet she let me in. I’m already hitting my 6th month here on the 9th. Thanks also, Lord, because Cynthia was nice to my mom when she had come here to visit. They even had the same birthday!

Thank You, Lord, for Marvic, my very first boss. I hope that we could be good friends forever, even after my employment at Ross. I love my job at Ross but I know that I’m not gonna stay there forever because my field is pharmacy. Marvic is an angel, Lord. He understands that I have 2 jobs and always makes the necessary adjustments so that there will be no conflicts in my schedules. He could even open the store 1 hour earlier so that I could finish early and not be late for the other job. He works too hard, Lord. Please help him take care of his health, and help him be happy too.

Thank You, Lord, for Bryan. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be in the cash office right now. Lots of other associates wanted to get the position I’m in, but he chose me, even though I was new.

Thanks, Lord, for all my Kaiser interviews. They say it’s very hard to apply at Kaiser but there have been more than 5 recruiters who contacted me already. I didn’t get past beyond one of the group interviews but just the fact that I was one of the very few that they considered hiring was already an achievement. The other job interviews that I’d been invited to sit in, I turned down due to lack of time. (I’m fully-booked, you know!)

Thanks, Lord, for Aiza. We only knew each other for such a short time, not even 6 months. But she cared for me more than any other friend would do. Thank You for sending her into my life just when I was lonely and needed a friend most. She was my happy pill! We would go places and she would take lovely photos of me. Because of her, I felt a lot better about myself. If I wrote this blog entry one month ago (May 21st), I would probably talk about Stanford and how I spent that entire day with her, taking pictures of ourselves and our dream school, just when the world was about to end (according to one American evangelist). Apparently, the rapture didn’t happen that day as we were still able to go to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) two weeks later. I so enjoyed that day! We looked at the old original paintings of Picasso and Matisse, etc. Greatest works of art, right in front of our very eyes! The experience was awesome. Aiza made me appreciate things I just ignored before.

Most important of all, thank You, Lord, for blessing me with a wonderful family who are always there to support me. Because of them, I don’t feel so alone because there’s always a guarantee that there’s a home and a family that I can go back to. Aside from You, they are my constant source of strength. If it weren’t for my mom, I wouldn’t be here in the United States and everything I mentioned above wouldn’t have happened. Thank You, Lord, for having her give birth to me. I love her.

And I love You, Lord.

Amen.