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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Sightseeing (08/08/05)
“This is the valley of ferns. There are more than five hundred fifty types of ferns through here. This place was once a river. It was one of the eight that gave Ocho Rios its name. Now it is dried up. Nothing more than a place to take the tourists.”

That was the story our taxi driver/tour guide gave us. I don’t know if there really are five hundred fifty different species of fern in the fern valley in Ocho Rios, but I do know it is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever experienced. It was a smorgasbord of visual delight. In fact all of Ocho Rios was gorgeous, a fantastic place for sightseeing.

From our hotel room we had a choice of views. Looking up from our balcony, the rich forest green tropical mountains, gazing below, the white sandy beach kissing the clear blue waters of the Caribbean. Either way we chose to look was an excellent choice.

As the taxi driver took us around I became completely enthralled with Jamaica. Every sight we took in, from the working plantation to Dunn’s River Falls, is still sharp in my memory. There are other sights that remain a permanent fixture in my mind as well.

While traveling from the fern valley to the working plantation we passed a river where women were doing their laundry. I had heard many stories of women long ago having to do their washing in a river, but I had never seen anyone actually practicing it especially not in the twentieth century. I was dumbfounded and ashamed by what I saw. After the plantation tour our guide took us to a market where we could buy souvenirs. On the way we passed homes that had the openings for windows and doors but there were no windows or doors in place. Once again I was dumbfounded and ashamed.

Dumbfounded because things I had only heard about and believed to be true were really true and suddenly became reality to me. Ashamed at my lack of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to grow up in and continue to reside in a country where washers, dryers, windows, and doors are taken for granted; I was humbled. I also felt shame for taking my blessings for granted. I instantly realized how spoiled we are, that is those of us who live in affluent countries.

My honeymoon in Jamaica was twenty-one years ago. At the time I hoped I would always remain grateful for my blessings and not take them for granted. Sadly from time to time I have lost sight of God’s graciousness to me and my family.

Although a lot has changed in twenty-one years, seeing life more clearly, sometimes having more clouded vision, I will never forget the first time God gave me sight for seeing beyond myself.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
terri tiffany
08/17/05
Very descrptive. I could imagine myself there. And so true that we forget our many blessings when life gets good!
Shari Armstrong 
08/18/05
A great reminder of all we have to be thankful for -including God's beautiful creation.
Julianne Jones
08/22/05
Well written. I liked the last sentence - it summed everything up so well. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for the gentle reminder to never take our blessings for granted. We have so much to be thankful for!