Sometimes the decision to turn your whole heart to God makes it’s harder to fit in with the old hang out buddies. Sometimes it feels like you’re being left behind. When they are making plans to have fun and not calling you, it hurts.
Let me be totally transparent – I’m writing from my own struggles.
I understand I’m the one who has changed. I don’t have fun in the ways I used to, and for people who still have fun in the old ways, it can be intimidating, even if I assure them that I don’t care or judge them.
Yet, I’m certain my heart would be far less happy if I returned to the old ways. In fact, I shared in last Monday’s webinar how I have continually prayed for help to live a life in the world that honors the love for God I feel in my heart. And, looking back, I’ve come a looooong way. For this I am grateful!
It’s times like these that I’m also grateful for all the ways we have to connect as a community.
We have a common bond that nothing can break. We have a deep yearning to be immersed in what is Real and let go of the rest – to leave the illusions and follow what draws us directly along the path to Allah, The One, Most High.
For this I am grateful, even if it means being lonely sometimes. It reminds me of the poem, by the Sufi poet, Hafiz.
I do not wish to waste time with that which I’ve chosen to release when I answered the call of this path. I am content to be with my Lord even in the sorrow. I recognize the loneliness only calls me closer to home – to know Allah more completely in this life, which is a gift. Al-humduli’llah (Praise to the One).
Thank you for being a part of my community. I hope we can all remember the struggles that sometimes come to our hearts on this way, and be there to support each other in the time of struggle and the times of contentment.
Blessings and gratitude for you!
Mastura Graugnard on behalf of your friends and family at UOS
