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[52:25-28] They will meet each other and reminisce among themselves. They will say, “We used to be kind and humble among our people. GOD has blessed us, and has spared us the agony of ill winds. We used to implore Him; He is the Most Kind, Most Merciful.”
The most important relationship is the one with our Creator, our Master. [2:21] O people, worship only your Lord—the One who created you and those before you—that you may be saved.
God not only created us to give us this final chance to redeem ourselves but also provided so beautifully in this last chance. His guidance, His mercy, His forgiveness. We must love God the most. All our relationships are shaped by how good our relationship with God is. Our relationships get better if we put God first and remember that God is the source of all good in our lives.
[2:165] Yet, some people set up idols to rival GOD, and love them as if they are GOD. Those who believe love GOD the most. If only the transgressors could see themselves when they see the retribution! They will realize then that all power belongs to GOD alone, and that GOD’s retribution is awesome.
Since all our other relationships depend on how good our relationship with God is we need to work on that relationship the most. [6:162] Say, “My Contact Prayers (Salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to GOD alone, the Lord of the universe.
When dealing with close relationships within the family, I try to remember that the person has been chosen by God for me and is the best parent / spouse / child for me. This person is a blessing and also a test.
Don’t dwell on a difficult habit or character trait but think of them as a mother who is helpful and loving, or a spouse who is honest, caring and hardworking, or a daughter whose conversations bring so much joy, or a son whose silliness brings a smile to our face. Even though I like to think I am a perfect daughter, wife and mother, my family does get annoyed by some things I do. But by God’s grace they do not hold those things against me and accept me as a fallible person who they love. I am happy and obligated to do the same to them.
God talks about relationships in the Hereafter. For the transgressors: [23:101] When the horn is blown, no relations among them will exist on that day, nor will they care about one another.
For the believers: [13:22-4] They steadfastly persevere in seeking their Lord, observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), spend from our provisions to them secretly and publicly, and counter evil with good. These have deserved the best abode. They enter the gardens of Eden, together with the righteous among their parents, their spouses, and their children. The angels will enter to them from every door. “Peace be upon you, because you steadfastly persevered. What a joyous destiny.”
May God guide us to be the best in all relationships, especially in our relationship with God so we can be among the inheritors of the blissful paradise.
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Recently I began to reflect on self-blame and God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Why do I do it? How does it hurt me? And what can I do to remedy it?
It began with me making a mistake in my life. It was an everyday, typical mistake, and I resorted to my usual reaction: beating myself up.
I kept making myself feel bad for the mistake, and it got me thinking, why do I do that? And is it making me a better Submitter?
I thought that reprimanding and beating myself up about my mistakes made me a better Submitter. That it showed I believed in GOD, that I believed in my inadequacies. I thought that submitting to GOD meant that I should punish myself at every mistake I made. But nothing can be farther from the truth!
I realized, by God’s grace, that our relationship with God as we work on submitting to Him, is akin to a student-teacher relationship. If a teacher has a C-student, who wants to go to college, but this student knows that he has a lot of hard work to do to accomplish his goal, will the teacher berate this student for making a mistake while striving? Or will the teacher help the student get there, including guiding him and building a healthy self-confidence and self-image?
Teachers know that students will make mistakes. But if the student is sincere, they also know that the student has a goal in mind, is working towards that goal, and is aware that he needs his teacher as a guide along the way.
The teacher will encourage the student to learn from his mistakes but at the same time correct his inner critic to think positively. She will make sure that the student knows that mistakes are inevitable and that he should keep doing everything possible to reach his goal.
In our submission, we will make mistakes. But are we going to waste energy berating ourselves, OR are we going to use the energy to learn from those mistakes? Are we going to TRUST that God will fix the situation and work it out for our good, or are we going to make our lives unpleasant, thus associating a negative experience with our submission?
I realized that although I make mistakes, the way to deal with those mistakes is
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