I have been ungrateful all this while.

My experience on Thursday made me conclude that I am not been grateful enough to God over my life and I felt down throughout my trip coming back home from the event I went to that same day, my brother wouldn't stop telling me how he wished he had large acres of land to build something comfortable for the people whose life opened my eyes to see how ungrateful I have been to God.

I was reluctant to go to the naming ceremony of a relative on Thursday but something motivated me, I didn't know what it was but I have been going through some down times lately. It started with my fish not growing properly even after six months instead of four, I had to sell at a loss because they were eating too much and I wasn't seeing the impact.

My family and personal life is something I wish have improved more than it is right now and I am concerned about it, I am always worried about tomorrow. I appreciate God's kindness but I ask for more lately that I fail to see what he is currently doing in my life, I honestly didn't realize that until a few days ago.

On my way to the event somewhere in Bariga Lagos state, we had to take a bike to the venue. While we were asking around for directions, we were told to go through a street with a flowing damaged canal releasing dirty into people's residents. The houses were old and they looked like they were going to fall if a heavy wind should hit them, the street was so bad and I could see students removing their shoes before dipping their feet into the dirty water flowing from the canal just to reach their homes.

We wanted to turn around but I was curious if people were living in those houses, we crossed the street in the fear of missing our footings and dropping into the shallow water. We started asking for directions to the event instead of taking a bike, we wanted to see more and we saw more than enough.

There were houses without a roof, tattered roofs, and no windows, and I was wondering what life meant for these people. They have beautiful kids and were happy, I felt bad and emotional about their lifestyle but on the second hand, I look at my life and called myself an ingrate.

I have a roof over my head, I eat three square meals of my choice except if I choose not to eat, my family and friends are doing good, I am healthy, and I still feel like God hasn't done enough for me.

I got to the event and asked about the area I passed through, I was told that the place is still fair at the moment. They said when it rains, it gets worse and the people usually take water out of their apartment. I went around and I felt bad that I didn't go with my smartphone to capture the things I saw but someone at the event promised to capture a few images and send them to me.

I left the event with a heavy heart, my conscience was disturbed all through the trip back home. I felt ungrateful to God, I fell on my knees and prayed for forgiveness immediately after I got home because I knew that God has done more than I deserve for me. Many of you know my story, I was once homeless even though I never mentioned it. I didn't have more than two pairs of trousers, feeding was difficult, and in short, life was terrible for me.

Today, I don't have millions but I can care for myself, family, friends, and the people in need around me so why should I remain ungrateful? If these people could be happy with what they have, how will they feel if they had more?

A lot of people like myself fail to see how far God has brought them just because they have their minds fixed on something bigger than their present life, there is nothing wrong with pursuing bigger dreams but we must always acknowledge and appreciate God's blessing over our lives. Everything we are today isn't by our might or do you think your hard work and wisdom have brought you this far in life?

There are lots of people who work harder than you and are as well wiser than you but they don't have the opportunity and privileges we have so we must understand that everything we have become is God's blessing.

In addition to this,

The issue of pollution has contributed to the problems of the people in that environment, they have all their drainage blocked with both polythene and plastic waste that would weigh thousands of tonnes. The effect of those things is terrible on nature and our health as well, I don't want to believe that they generated so much waste themselves but the canal must have gotten overfilled most times and sent the waste into their environment.

Everyone must be disciplined with waste management, it isn't just about us because we could be hurting or making life difficult for someone out there by not managing our waste properly.

Let's do the right things and save lives instead of taking it indirectly with our actions.

Please note that all images used in the article were captured by a friend.