The fortunate few among us that have all their needs taken care of attain an upgrade to wander away into the bottomless, never-ending pit of their wants. Sometimes I wonder, am I really fortunate if my thirst for various things is hardly ever quenched. While I look into the eyes of an orphaned, homeless child squeal with utter glee at the sight of me handing him an ice cream; I stand there, smiling, wondering why I can't have such real yet simple satisfactions. God has given me far too much. He has bestowed upon me more than I would ever be worthy of. Yet I have the audacity to pray for more; For that couch I liked, for those shoes I loved.
And when God chooses to delay the response to our demands, we protest. We present him with sleepless nights, damp pillows and hollow hearts. Suddenly God's priorities are questioned. "God has so much time to answer others' prayers. Why can't he excuse himself for a bit and answer mine too?" However, stepping back and absorbing in the bigger picture has made me view things from a different perspective. If anything, God possibly has access to the best and worst comic yet tragic displays ever imaginable. Yet he somehow manages to unveil the magic through our destiny and create a unique roller coaster for each and every one of us. He understands the nuances of pain associated with losing a mother just as he would the pain associated with not receiving the promotion that was due at work.
It wasn't long ago that I found myself questioning why God wasn't answering my prayers. Despite having channeled all my energies towards attaining this one specific thing, God simply refused to take care of my requests. That is when a friend brought up this verse from the Qur'an: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is our Mawla (protector)." Part of witnessing God unveil his magic involves having complete faith in that little roller coaster he has designed for you. Though the roller coaster has been fixed as our destiny, our reactions to those pits and mounts are what this world will remember us for.
So the next time we find ourselves in despondent states wondering why God isn't answering our prayers, remember this: what you're asking for doesn't fit perfectly with the destiny shaped specially for you. Perhaps, what you asked for wasn't right for you. Perhaps, the timing was off. Perhaps, God knows what is best for us. And maybe, just maybe, we are better off praying for the right reactions rather than what we believe are the right things for us. After all, it is our reactions to the various hardships and achievements that translate into us being better (or worse) human beings.
No comments:
Post a Comment