Assalamualaikum ^^
I've fall in with this beautiful thought :D
~.........................................~
"So, what’s it like to become 28?" asked a good friend of mine last week.
"I feel like I’m 18," I joked. We laughed.
But deep inside, my heart was saying, “I’m one year closer to death.”
This is the kind of situation that either be celebrated by some or be reflected by the other. Or maybe both, or none at all.
"Do you think you’ve grown? Wait… How do we know that we’ve matured or grown?" She continued to ask, while driving. We just finished having our weekly study circle at the beach (I love the sea and the weather by the way, it was refreshing to have a different venue this time).
"Hmmm… Perhaps when you get to do something like getting married," I managed to say. I remember looking at my friends who are already married and with children. Their responsibilities were added now and then. They had to learn it stage by stage and in each stage, they get to experience many different sorts of learning - be it managing their emotions, people skills, time, et cetera, et cetera… I saw my married friends becoming mature if not by 180 degrees, by 360 degrees. SubhanAllah. Marriage is really completing half your deen - not merely because of the spouse but the added responsibilities and commitments as prepared by Allah SWT for each of us..
My good friend didn’t seem to hear what I said. It seemed that she was deep in her thoughts whilst driving. I looked at her. Suddenly she voiced out her thoughts,
"I think that when we grow, we grow it from the ‘tests’."
"That’s true." I nodded, agreeing with her.
"Because we get to learn something from each test and after the test was finished, we learn and grow from it." She continued.
I kept nodding and I began to reflect. How true it is. I’ve definitely grown from the tests from Him, not by age but by experience. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, the moment that Allah gives you a test is the moment when you are about to become mature. Your growth is determined by how well you did in your ‘tests’. If you have learned something from it, even the smallest thing. You have grown, girl. You have grown.
I remember I used to say when I greeted my friends’ birthdays, I usually say, “A year older, a year wiser.” Maybe next time, when I meet my friend, which doesn’t necessarily have to be during their birthdays, but perhaps after they have underwent a ‘test’ from Him, I can say,
"One test endured, one level wiser."
:)