and then and blows you off your feet. That's alright. What matters is
that you get back up.
You don't have to have theanswers. You don't have tobe superman or
superwoman. When the thundercloud opens up, who among us can stop the
rain? When the hurricane blows, who can stay on his feet? No one.
When the storm passes, stand up. Dust yourself off,take stock, and
move forward in the name of Allah. If the storm has disoriented you
and you don't see the way forward,look to the Quran. "And if there
should come to you guidance from Me – then whoever follows Myguidance
will neither go astray [in the world] nor suffer [in the Hereafter]."
(Quran, Surat TaHa, 20:123). The Quran is a mighty book. Never
underestimate it. If you cannot speak Arabic and find the English
translations unwieldy, get one of the modern translations that are
easierto read, like those by UmmMuhammad, or Thomas Cleary.
When you get knocked down and then stand up tall, with strength,
others see it, and it rallies them. Your spouse sees it, your children
see it, your friendssee it, and of course Allah sees it. Don't think
of it as showing off. Not at all. Think of it as brotherhood and
sisterhood, all of us helping each other, giving each other strength,
being good shepherds to our flocks.
Superman is no hero, he's impervious to bullets! Realheroes get hurt,
they get down on themselves sometimes, they're imperfect, they
struggle topay the bills and raise theirchildren, they struggle to be
become stronger in their faith, but they struggle! They don't give up.
That's inspiring, and it's contagious, and maybe sometimes it will be
someone else inspiring you, and maybe sometimes it will be you,
getting up after the hurricane, showing us all how it's done.
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