Hello – It has been a minute!

Thank you for all of your gracious messages that continue to filter in, and for your kind words asking after me. I am well, writing elsewhere, and in different format.

I promise to write a long-form for onefemalecanuck very soon, with a proper update.

For now however, Chai Latte Diaries are picking up the Maha Monday column once again (twice monthly), and this is the first of the new series. Enjoy!

At Chai Latte Diaries, a 16 year old girl is worried about her wavering faith and her challenge facing prayer. She wants to know whether to lie to her family, pretending she is praying (while not), and what to do next.

I remind her that prayer isn’t for anyone but ourselves, and that there’s never a good time to lie.

You don’t owe your mother prayer, and you definitely don’t owe God prayer. He does not require anything of us; and all that He asks of us – such as prayer – is in fact to serve us, to improve us, not Him. You owe yourself prayer, my love. So this lie is more an affront to you than to any other. Instead, sit with your mom and explain what is happening.

[…]

You will be in this ebb and flow with both God and your deen (the Arabic word for ‘religion’) until the day you return to Him. There will be times where you will feel so rooted, while other challenges will put you to sea. Accept each wave with grace and patience and remember that all shifts of heart are temporary.

Click above to read the complete advice column.

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