This is Who I Am

I can only come as I am to you, Allah
You're not the only thing inmy heart
But can't I still give it, full of everything as it is, back to you?
You're not the only thing on my mind
But can't I still ask you to help me with my random, sinful thoughts?
I'm not perfect, and You even said You wouldn't want this
You want those who can be forgiven
And I need forgiveness Yousee, because
I sometimes am fine with having more than just You in my life
I sometimes am fine with thinking things I shouldn't
I sometimes am fine with skipping a prayer or two
I sometimes am fine with eating a haraam burger
I sometimes am fine with saying a bad word
This is who I am Allah, a girl who is sometimes fine with sin in my life
But I don't forget You, everywhere I look I see You
And I'm just tired of being told to be someone else, just to come to You
I am who I am Allah, and while I am making my bad choices
I am also hating that people are being hurt
Whether it's by me or someone else
I am hating that people aremistreating one another
Whether in the name of Islam or any other cause
Allah I am who I am, and I am someone who loves goodness
I love fairness and compassion
My favorite thing is to see people come into a blessing of any kind
And find their heart's desire, to see them really find You
So this is who I am Allah, I am a contradiction
I am a lover of Your attributes even while I am rejecting them in my own life
By means of my own actions
I am messed up and hurt and scared, all while hopeful and trusting and strong
I cry that things don't go my way, and I cry at the story of Muhammad (saws)
I argue for the fun of it, yetsometimes Your words take the fight
right out of me
You are ultimate and real and deep and pricelessly complex
And I am whimsical, moody, emotional, nafsy and greedy
And all I want is to be able to come to You and be who I really am
While You make me who I was always meant to be.

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Fight for It

Anything I have in my life, Ihave fought for. Yes, it all comes from
Allah. The two are not mutually exclusive.
There are universal gifts that Allah gives to all. Life, the soul, the
will… beyond that, nothing is assured. Breath? Some people fight to
breathe. Food? Some people struggle for a bit of grain. Water? Some
people work an entire day to get water. Health? Some people are born
sick and fight for every day of life. Freedom? Millions of children
are born in refugee camps.
Allah gives us opportunities. He gives us abilities, talents, gifts,
and it's up to us to make something out of them. Allah gives us
guidance andtruth, but if we want to follow that truth then we'llhave
to fight for it, and it won't be easy. As soon as we dedicate our
lives to truth, we'll see obstacles appearing in our paths.
I don't mean physically fight (though that is sometimes the case). I
mean strive, struggle, workhard, deal with personal attacks and
naysayers, staypositive, find a way forward when the path appears to
be blocked, and refuse to give up!
If you want to pursue your dreams, you'll have to struggle. If you
want (halal) love in your life, if you want something real, ifyou want
to make something happen, well then brother and sister, you'll have to
strive with all your might. That's how it is.
"And those who strive in Our cause, We will surely guide them to Our
paths." – Quran, Al-Ankaboot, 29:69.
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At Playground, Child Plus Lap Can Equal Danger

Last spring, Katie Dickman of Dunkirk, Md., was at the playground with
her 18-month-old toddler, Hannah, when the little girl asked to ride
down a twisting slide. Ms. Dickmanaccompanied her daughter, carefully
keeping the child on her lap as they coasted to the bottom.
But without warning, Hannah's sneaker caught on the side of the slide.
Although Ms. Dickman grabbed the leg and unstuck her daughter's foot,
by the time they reached the ground, the girl was whimpering and could
not walk. A doctor's visit later revealed a fractured tibia.
"My wife was just trying tokeep Hannah extra safe and make sure she
didn't fall," said Hannah's father, Jed Dickman. "She felt veryguilty
about it."
As the Dickmans soon learned, such injuries are surprisingly common.
Although nobody keeps national statistics, orthopedic specialists say
they treat a number of toddlers and young children each year with
broken legs as a result of riding down the slide on a parent's lap. A
study at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y., found that
nearly 14 percent of pediatric leg fractures over an 11-month period
involved toddlers riding down the slide with a parent.
Dr. Edward Holt, the orthopedic surgeon at Anne Arundel Medical Center
in Annapolis who treated Hannah's injury last April, said that just
two weeks ago he treated a 4-year-old boy who had been injured going
down the slide with his father.
"This fracture is entirely preventable," said Dr. Holt, who has
created a warning poster for local pediatrician offices and a You Tube
video alerting parents to the hazard.
This may be one of those counterintuitive cases when a child is safer
by himself. If a foot gets caught while the child is sliding alone, he
can just stop moving or twist around until it comes free. But when a
child is sitting in an adult lap, the force ofthe adult's weight
behind him ends up breaking his leg/

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