Guided by light, driven by dreams, and ready to fly.

Category: Lessons Within Borders

  • Be Like Joy — Bright, Bold, and a Little Delusional

    (Hint: This is not an Inside Out review, okay? 😂)

    “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
    — Matthew 6:34

    We worry about everything.
    Money. Jobs. Bills.
    What people think. Where our lives are headed.
    Whether we’ll ever get the things we’re longing for.
    (Or in my case, whether I’ll ever get a husband. Yes, I’m single — waving at all the single guys out there. 👋)

    And for parents? Add a few more layers of worry — spouses, kids, school fees, and why the electricity bill suddenly looks like it was written in Greek.

    Let me tell you a story from my early days in the UAE.
    Spoiler: it includes heat, humility, near-starvation, and one small miracle with a side of dates.

    Welcome to RAK, the Budget Adventure Package

    I loved my life in the UAE. The desert safaris, the food, the stunning buildings, and friendships with people from all over the world — it felt like a movie.
    But here’s the truth: even the best movies have a few horror scenes.

    One day, my company decided to transfer me from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK).
    I was nervous, sure — I didn’t know anyone there.
    But also excited… because I’m stubborn like that. ✨New experience! ✨No backup plan! ✨What could go wrong!

    Well. Let’s talk about the part where I only had 20 dirhams to my name.
    Not 200. Not 2,000.
    Twenty.

    And I had to:

    • Move to a new city
    • Pay rent in advance
    • Pay a carlift (no car!)
    • Exit the country soon (visa expiring, fun yaay!)
    • Eat food like a regular human

    Mood? Full-blown panic.
    Budget? Spiritual
    Options? Cry, pray, or cry-while-praying.

    Enter: The Unexpected Provision

    My manager told me to go visit Al Hamra Mall before the move.
    It was new, bright, and weirdly empty. Retailers were chilling outside their stores like it was their front porch.

    There, I met a woman — let’s call her M.
    We started chatting and I told her I’d be moving to RAK but didn’t have a place yet.

    And then… she offered me a place to stay.
    No advance rent.
    Just, “You can live with us.”

    She even let me crash that same day and cooked for me.
    Hot. Cooked. Food.
    Reader, I almost cried on her plate.

    Ramadan & the 20 Dirham Diet

    Then came the real test.
    Ramadan started. I had no money. The carlift driver kept asking for his fare and I kept pretending I didn’t hear him. (Sorry, Mohamed. God bless your patience.)

    But he kept picking me up anyway.
    Problem #2 solved.

    Food? I pretended I was fasting.
    I’m Catholic, but I used the season to embrace spiritual minimalism (aka, I was broke).

    Local people gave out dates and water at sunset — that became dinner.
    And then, M noticed… and started feeding me lunch and dinner.

    And then — family to the rescue.
    One of my cousins from Dubai showed up out of nowhere with bags of groceries.
    She said she had a gut feeling I was starving.

    “Turns out God has a way of whispering into your cousin’s heart mid-grocery run.”

    One by one, God crossed off every worry I had — housing, transport, food — with quiet, gentle kindness.

    And Then Joy Walked In

    That season taught me that Matthew 6:34 is real.
    Don’t worry about tomorrow.
    Not because tomorrow is magical —
    But because God already lives there.

    Anxiety makes you spiral.
    It clutters your mind like tangled wires.
    It keeps you up at night rehearsing disasters that never come.
    But joy?
    Joy shows up with 20 dirhams and no plan… and still believes something good will happen.

    I still feel anxious, of course. I’m human.
    But now, I don’t let anxiety drive the car.
    I acknowledge her, let her sit in the back… and let Joy take the wheel.

    Let Me Leave You With This

    We still need to plan — don’t get me wrong.
    You can’t say “I want to be a pilot” and then not learn how to fly a plane.
    But what I’ve learned is this:

    One by one, every need I was anxious about — housing, transport, food — was covered by kindness I didn’t see coming.

    When you don’t have anything, trust God’s provision through the unexpected people He sends your way. Sometimes it’s not a miracle falling from the sky… sometimes it’s a carlift driver who keeps showing up even when you pretend you didn’t hear him.

    Do not worry about tomorrow, He said and He meant it.

    See you in the next story.
    Where the budget was tight, the visa was tighter… and somehow, I ended up in Iran.
    Not by choice, but definitely with emotion.

    Coming soon: “The Reluctant Border Queen.”

  • Be Content, Be Free

    It’s raining outside, and I can hear the soft hum of thunder, the steady rhythm of raindrops against the window. It’s my favorite kind of weather. I’m sipping my coffee, scrolling through social media, and I can’t help but notice the photos—people laughing, traveling, seeming to live a full and fulfilled life.

    And then, I remember a woman I met on the bus in Abu Dhabi.  It was another sweltering day, but I didn’t mind. I’d grown used to the heat and had come to love living there. My shift had ended, and I was heading home. I got on the bus and sat down across from a woman. She was Asian, with a child by her side. She looked pretty, in a simple but graceful way. This brief encounter with her stuck with me, leaving me with an important lesson.

    I was absorbed in my phone when she struck up a conversation. She asked what I was looking at, and I showed her a photo of my old friend with her husband. I admitted that I felt a pang of jealousy because I was single, and I wanted that too.

    She smiled gently, almost knowingly, and said, “It’s only a photo. You don’t know what’s happening in their lives. We all have our struggles. People smile in photos all the time, but that doesn’t mean they’re truly happy.”

    Her words hit me deeply. Over the years, I’ve had my share of smiles for the camera, hiding the heaviness in my heart. And every time that happens, I remember her words.

    That short conversation taught me something valuable: don’t compare your life to others. Everyone has their own struggles, their own pain. It’s up to us how we choose to deal with them.

    I’m sure you’ve heard this message before, but I want to share it with anyone who’s ever looked at someone else’s “picture-perfect” life on social media and felt that ache of longing. Remember, life is not perfect. The photos you see online are just the good moments — the highlights. They are not the full picture. While it’s okay to be inspired by others, don’t let bitterness creep in. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else.

    Your time will come. And when it does, don’t hesitate to reach out to God with the longings in your heart. He’s always there, waiting to listen.

    A short prayer:

    Dear God,
    Thank You for the life You’ve given us. We ask for forgiveness for not fully embracing our own journey, for too often comparing ourselves to others. As humans, we have aspirations, dreams, and yes, frustrations too. You, as our Father, are always there to guide us and help us through.
    We ask You to help us live fulfilling lives on our own terms. Teach us to count our blessings and not to covet the lives of others. Remind us that we all have different paths to walk, and success looks different for everyone. Help us be content with where we are, while we continue to follow the dreams You’ve placed in our hearts.
    In Jesus’ name, Amen.