This Ramadan, my heart goes out to those who have difficult family members.
When I say difficult, I don't mean the energetic little brothers who won't stop poking at their elder siblings just to incite annoyance or gain attention. I'm not talking about the tired mother who nags at her children to assist her with the endless house chores. Nor am I talking about the joking father who chides his kids' attempts at cooking iftar.
They're not truly difficult if they mean well, and they're not difficult if harmless annoying traits happen to be in their nature.
When I say difficult, I mean the family members that cause little else aside from true pain and sadness around the household, even in the holy month. My heart goes out to people who have to deal with them.
The one who has to cope with the high-tempered brother whenever he shamelessly allows his anger to spill out of him onto everyone else, especially during times of hunger.
The one whose father stubbornly and inconsiderately carries on with his smoking habits in the household during the day. And when the father is advised not to for the sake of his own health, he scolds and scolds and scolds...
The one who gets demoralised when the sister relentlessly ridicules and belittles the attempts to perform good actions for the first time in a whole year.
The one with the heart that grows heavy when the mother spews nothing else but poisonous negativity from her mouth despite actions being done well and well-intended.
The one who tirelessly attempts to wake the daughter up even when she continuously refuses, only to have her exert rage later on for "not being woken up properly enough".
The one whose family members are not even of Islamic faith, often rejecting it, and are against empathising with the struggles and practices of Ramadan.
My heart goes out to these people, to all whom I failed to mention, to them, and more. May God grant them the steadfastness they need to maintain their anger, disappointment and pain.
My heart goes out to these people, in my prayers and hopes, to remind them that they are not alone. You are not alone. Yes, only God knows how terribly arduous, tedious, and strenuous it is to deal with such people living under the same roof. And only He knows how difficult it must be for your faith and patience to remain strong when you have to handle their unreasonable demands and tendencies. It's so, so hard. It's been hard your whole life, and sometimes it's even harder during Ramadan.
But know this: know that there are a lot of people out there facing somewhat the same dire situation. Even though they may be miles away, even though you may be years apart, they're there, they've been there, and they will be there.
And more importantly, know that your struggle is never something you cannot handle. Know that your struggle does not go unnoticed by God. He knows how back-breaking your affairs can be. He knows you're trying your best. He knows how heartbroken you are. He knows. Remember that.
And my heart goes out to these people, in hopes of reminding those who may not face the same struggle of having to handle difficult family members, to always be more grateful, and less difficult. Be family members who ease burdens rather than expand them, who contribute aid rather than refuse them, who minimise disputes rather than create them.
This Ramadan, my heart goes out to those who have difficult family members; may God bless them all.
When I say difficult, I don't mean the energetic little brothers who won't stop poking at their elder siblings just to incite annoyance or gain attention. I'm not talking about the tired mother who nags at her children to assist her with the endless house chores. Nor am I talking about the joking father who chides his kids' attempts at cooking iftar.
They're not truly difficult if they mean well, and they're not difficult if harmless annoying traits happen to be in their nature.
When I say difficult, I mean the family members that cause little else aside from true pain and sadness around the household, even in the holy month. My heart goes out to people who have to deal with them.
The one who has to cope with the high-tempered brother whenever he shamelessly allows his anger to spill out of him onto everyone else, especially during times of hunger.
The one whose father stubbornly and inconsiderately carries on with his smoking habits in the household during the day. And when the father is advised not to for the sake of his own health, he scolds and scolds and scolds...
The one who gets demoralised when the sister relentlessly ridicules and belittles the attempts to perform good actions for the first time in a whole year.
The one with the heart that grows heavy when the mother spews nothing else but poisonous negativity from her mouth despite actions being done well and well-intended.
The one who tirelessly attempts to wake the daughter up even when she continuously refuses, only to have her exert rage later on for "not being woken up properly enough".
The one whose heart breaks when the son violently protests against helping with the house chores even after repeated requests, often preferring to eat out with his peers.
The one whose family members are not even of Islamic faith, often rejecting it, and are against empathising with the struggles and practices of Ramadan.
My heart goes out to these people, to all whom I failed to mention, to them, and more. May God grant them the steadfastness they need to maintain their anger, disappointment and pain.
My heart goes out to these people, in my prayers and hopes, to remind them that they are not alone. You are not alone. Yes, only God knows how terribly arduous, tedious, and strenuous it is to deal with such people living under the same roof. And only He knows how difficult it must be for your faith and patience to remain strong when you have to handle their unreasonable demands and tendencies. It's so, so hard. It's been hard your whole life, and sometimes it's even harder during Ramadan.
But know this: know that there are a lot of people out there facing somewhat the same dire situation. Even though they may be miles away, even though you may be years apart, they're there, they've been there, and they will be there.
And more importantly, know that your struggle is never something you cannot handle. Know that your struggle does not go unnoticed by God. He knows how back-breaking your affairs can be. He knows you're trying your best. He knows how heartbroken you are. He knows. Remember that.
And my heart goes out to these people, in hopes of reminding those who may not face the same struggle of having to handle difficult family members, to always be more grateful, and less difficult. Be family members who ease burdens rather than expand them, who contribute aid rather than refuse them, who minimise disputes rather than create them.
This Ramadan, my heart goes out to those who have difficult family members; may God bless them all.
