“Nothing happens without a purpose.
So when something happens that you dislike or that hurts you, be careful not to get lost
in the illusion created by pain. Look through it. Find the message in the bottle.
Find the purpose. And let it lead you to glimpse just a little more of Him.”
- Yasmin Mogahed -
I hope this post will not disappoint those of you who entered a state of 90s nostalgia bliss in response to its title. Then again, these words may be reminiscent of certain situations and life events after all, though likely unerlated to the days you spent in front of the TV absorbing episodes of Growing Pains.
It's difficult when your image of the future has been shattered. The frame now empty, you find yourself struggling to understand what could possibly replace the vision you once admired. It's not that you thought you had power and control over all the elements in your life. It's that you're a human being, and it's in your nature to hope and to plan.
What we have to remember is that God is the best of planners. Sometimes the people, places, and things in our lives are not those which will bring us to an ultimate state of peace. Even though there is some good and some beauty in them, it is possible that they do not provide the best nourishment overall - the nourishment that feeds us at our deepest level and promotes the growth of our soul. Often times, the one thing we can control is our reactions to the curve balls thrown in our pathway. It's normal to experience a complex conglomerate of emotions, and it's okay to admit when you feel hurt or worried. But one thing is for certain: We are never given burdens greater than we can bear, so we can't fall prey to the belief that things won't get better after they've fallen apart. Even the most intense pain will subside. We often need that sensation of pain just to understand the growth and healing process that follows and to appreciate the serenity that eventually settles in our heart, mind, body, and soul.
When hardship arrives, I still secretly hope it will sail away and disappear along the foggy horizon - just an ephemeral speck I once encountered. But life is not about running away from, or pushing away, hardships; it's about learning to sail and ride the waves. We think that we're strong when life is absent of challenges and when we don't wear our emotions on our sleeves. But true strength is found within the struggle, not without it. It stems from the ability to move forward with trust in God's wisdom. It's learning to navigate the creation while knowing that the Creator will test you, bless you, and in the end lead you to contentment in its purest form.
After finishing a large dinner a few months ago, I indulged myself with an almost-as-large dessert. Despite my typical sweet tooth when it comes to ice cream, I practically felt ill afterward. I knew when I bought the dessert that I didn't need it. My hunger was gone. My appetite, however, remained, so I convinced myself that I desired something else. Although the first few tastes were delicious, my awareness of my error in judgment soon set in. In the end, I felt worse rather than better.
The things we want and the things we need are not always the same, and I've been learning that firsthand, and in ways where the outcome is much more difficult than that of a superfluous food purchase. It is my hope that the things we need will become the things we want, so that we always desire what is best for us.
So sometimes, we have to let go. Cry. Breathe. Take in hope. We have to remember that God created the landscape around us and put us behind the wheel. We spend our lives learning how to best navigate His Creation, striving to come closer to Him, though sometimes winding up in reverse or hitting bumps along the way. As the Creator, He places detours before us as we progress on our journey. We find ourselves heading in a different, unfamiliar direction. As we travel beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone, there's an initial sense of unease and uncertainty, but it is up to us to steadily accelerate with full confidence and trust in His wisdom. The destination, whatever that may be, will surely be worth the ride.
It's easy to believe this, but more challenging to let it permeate your entire being. I'm facing trials in my life, but I will keep moving forward and working on becoming more humble and appreciative each and every day. I'm human, and I'm still learning to embrace my detours and my empty frames. I'm still struggling and growing stronger because of it. The image I'll experience in the end, whether it is a vibrant sunset view along the road of life or a photograph of hearts that are smiling having found one another, will be the one that satiates my soul.
It's difficult when your image of the future has been shattered. The frame now empty, you find yourself struggling to understand what could possibly replace the vision you once admired. It's not that you thought you had power and control over all the elements in your life. It's that you're a human being, and it's in your nature to hope and to plan.
What we have to remember is that God is the best of planners. Sometimes the people, places, and things in our lives are not those which will bring us to an ultimate state of peace. Even though there is some good and some beauty in them, it is possible that they do not provide the best nourishment overall - the nourishment that feeds us at our deepest level and promotes the growth of our soul. Often times, the one thing we can control is our reactions to the curve balls thrown in our pathway. It's normal to experience a complex conglomerate of emotions, and it's okay to admit when you feel hurt or worried. But one thing is for certain: We are never given burdens greater than we can bear, so we can't fall prey to the belief that things won't get better after they've fallen apart. Even the most intense pain will subside. We often need that sensation of pain just to understand the growth and healing process that follows and to appreciate the serenity that eventually settles in our heart, mind, body, and soul.
When hardship arrives, I still secretly hope it will sail away and disappear along the foggy horizon - just an ephemeral speck I once encountered. But life is not about running away from, or pushing away, hardships; it's about learning to sail and ride the waves. We think that we're strong when life is absent of challenges and when we don't wear our emotions on our sleeves. But true strength is found within the struggle, not without it. It stems from the ability to move forward with trust in God's wisdom. It's learning to navigate the creation while knowing that the Creator will test you, bless you, and in the end lead you to contentment in its purest form.
After finishing a large dinner a few months ago, I indulged myself with an almost-as-large dessert. Despite my typical sweet tooth when it comes to ice cream, I practically felt ill afterward. I knew when I bought the dessert that I didn't need it. My hunger was gone. My appetite, however, remained, so I convinced myself that I desired something else. Although the first few tastes were delicious, my awareness of my error in judgment soon set in. In the end, I felt worse rather than better.
The things we want and the things we need are not always the same, and I've been learning that firsthand, and in ways where the outcome is much more difficult than that of a superfluous food purchase. It is my hope that the things we need will become the things we want, so that we always desire what is best for us.
So sometimes, we have to let go. Cry. Breathe. Take in hope. We have to remember that God created the landscape around us and put us behind the wheel. We spend our lives learning how to best navigate His Creation, striving to come closer to Him, though sometimes winding up in reverse or hitting bumps along the way. As the Creator, He places detours before us as we progress on our journey. We find ourselves heading in a different, unfamiliar direction. As we travel beyond the boundaries of our comfort zone, there's an initial sense of unease and uncertainty, but it is up to us to steadily accelerate with full confidence and trust in His wisdom. The destination, whatever that may be, will surely be worth the ride.
It's easy to believe this, but more challenging to let it permeate your entire being. I'm facing trials in my life, but I will keep moving forward and working on becoming more humble and appreciative each and every day. I'm human, and I'm still learning to embrace my detours and my empty frames. I'm still struggling and growing stronger because of it. The image I'll experience in the end, whether it is a vibrant sunset view along the road of life or a photograph of hearts that are smiling having found one another, will be the one that satiates my soul.
-----
*Healing Quotes & Passages*
"When Allah tests you, it is never to destroy you. When He removes something in your possession, it is only in order to empty your hands for an even greater gift."
- Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah -
"If you would count up the favors of Allah, never would you be able to number them, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
- Qu'ran 16:18 -
"This life scatters us into peaces that only Allah can join"
- Yasmin Mogahed -
"O you who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer, for Allah is with those who patiently persevere."
- Qur'an 2:153 -
"While I breathe, I hope."
- Latin Proverb -
"One of the reasons we get disquieted about difficulty is that we don't understand what the wisdom of the difficulty is from Allah."
- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf -
"Don't let your source of fulfillment be anything other than your relationship with God. Don't let your definition of success, failure, or self-worth be anything other than your position with Him. And if you do this, you become unbreakable, because your handhold is unbreakable. You become unconquerable, because your supporter can never be conquered. And you will never become empty, because your source of fulfillment is unending and never diminishes."
- Yasmin Mogahed -
- Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah -
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou -
"We spend so much time asking God to cure us of our hardships. Yet we never stop to consider that our hardships are curing us."
- Yasmin Mogahed -
"Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest."
- Qur'an 13:28
"We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"
- Oscar Wilde -
"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky."
- Rabindranath Tagore -"If you would count up the favors of Allah, never would you be able to number them, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
- Qu'ran 16:18 -
"This life scatters us into peaces that only Allah can join"
- Yasmin Mogahed -
"O you who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer, for Allah is with those who patiently persevere."
- Qur'an 2:153 -
"While I breathe, I hope."
- Latin Proverb -
"One of the reasons we get disquieted about difficulty is that we don't understand what the wisdom of the difficulty is from Allah."
- Shaykh Hamza Yusuf -
"Don't let your source of fulfillment be anything other than your relationship with God. Don't let your definition of success, failure, or self-worth be anything other than your position with Him. And if you do this, you become unbreakable, because your handhold is unbreakable. You become unconquerable, because your supporter can never be conquered. And you will never become empty, because your source of fulfillment is unending and never diminishes."
- Yasmin Mogahed -
Thanks very much for this post on growing pains. Many people, even myself can relate to this post. When the pain seems real, it's hard to just let go and hope but I have been working in building my faith.
ReplyDelete